                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

PRESUMPTION AS TO DEATH OR DISABILITY FROM INFECTIOUS DISEASE (§ 65.2-402.1)

A. Hepatitis, meningococcal meningitis, tuberculosis or HIV causing the death
of, or any health condition or impairment resulting in total or partial
disability of, any (i) salaried or volunteer firefighter, or salaried or
volunteer emergency medical services personnel; (ii) member of the State Police
Officers&#8217; Retirement System; (iii) member of county, city, or town police
departments; (iv) sheriff or deputy sheriff; (v) Department of Emergency
Management hazardous materials officer; (vi) city sergeant or deputy city
sergeant of the City of Richmond; (vii) Virginia Marine Police officer; (viii)
conservation police officer who is a full-time sworn member of the enforcement
division of the Department of Wildlife Resources; (ix) Capitol Police officer;
(x) special agent of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority appointed
under the provisions of Chapter 1 (&#xA7; 4.1-100 et seq.) of Title 4.1; (xi)
for such period that the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority voluntarily
subjects itself to the provisions of this chapter as provided in &#xA7;
65.2-305, officer of the police force established and maintained by the
Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority; (xii) officer of the police force
established and maintained by the Norfolk Airport Authority; (xiii) conservation
officer of the Department of Conservation and Recreation commissioned pursuant
to &#xA7; 10.1-115; (xiv) sworn officer of the police force established and
maintained by the Virginia Port Authority; (xv) campus police officer appointed
under Article 3 (&#xA7; 23.1-809 et seq.) of Chapter 8 of Title 23.1 and
employed by any public institution of higher education; (xvi) correctional
officer as defined in &#xA7; 53.1-1; or (xvii) full-time sworn member of the
enforcement division of the Department of Motor Vehicles who has a documented
occupational exposure to blood or body fluids shall be presumed to be
occupational diseases, suffered in the line of government duty, that are covered
by this title unless such presumption is overcome by a preponderance of
competent evidence to the contrary. For purposes of this subsection, an
occupational exposure occurring on or after July 1, 2002, shall be deemed
&#8220;documented&#8221; if the person covered under this subsection gave
notice, written or otherwise, of the occupational exposure to his employer, and
an occupational exposure occurring prior to July 1, 2002, shall be deemed
&#8220;documented&#8221; without regard to whether the person gave notice,
written or otherwise, of the occupational exposure to his employer. For any
correctional officer as defined in &#xA7; 53.1-1 or full-time sworn member of
the enforcement division of the Department of Motor Vehicles, the presumption
shall not apply if such individual was diagnosed with hepatitis, meningococcal
meningitis, or HIV before July 1, 2020.

B. 1. COVID-19 causing the death of, or any health condition or impairment
resulting in total or partial disability of, any health care provider, as
defined in § 8.01-581.1, who as part of the provider&#8217;s employment is
directly involved in diagnosing or treating persons known or suspected to have
COVID-19, shall be presumed to be an occupational disease that is covered by
this title unless such presumptions are overcome by a preponderance of competent
evidence to the contrary. For the purposes of this section, the COVID-19 virus
shall be established by a positive diagnostic test for COVID-19 and signs and
symptoms of COVID-19 that require medical treatment, as described in subdivision
F 2.

   2. COVID-19 causing the death of, or any health condition or impairment
   resulting in total or partial disability of, any (i) firefighter, as defined
   in &#xA7; 65.2-102; (ii) law-enforcement officer, as defined in &#xA7;
   9.1-101; (iii) correctional officer, as defined in &#xA7; 53.1-1; or (iv)
   regional jail officer shall be presumed to be an occupational disease,
   suffered in the line of duty, as applicable, that is covered by this title
   unless such presumption is overcome by a preponderance of competent evidence
   to the contrary. For the purposes of this section, the COVID-19 virus shall be
   established by a positive diagnostic test for COVID-19, an incubation period
   consistent with COVID-19, and signs and symptoms of COVID-19 that require
   medical treatment.

C. As used in this section:
			&#8220;Blood or body fluids&#8221; means blood and body fluids containing
visible blood and other body fluids to which universal precautions for
prevention of occupational transmission of blood-borne pathogens, as established
by the Centers for Disease Control, apply. For purposes of potential
transmission of hepatitis, meningococcal meningitis, tuberculosis, or HIV the
term &#8220;blood or body fluids&#8221; includes respiratory, salivary, and
sinus fluids, including droplets, sputum, saliva, mucous, and any other fluid
through which infectious airborne or blood-borne organisms can be transmitted
between persons.
			&#8220;Hepatitis&#8221; means hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis non-A,
hepatitis non-B, hepatitis C, or any other strain of hepatitis generally
recognized by the medical community.
			&#8220;HIV&#8221; means the medically recognized retrovirus known as human
immunodeficiency virus, type I or type II, causing immunodeficiency syndrome.
			&#8220;Occupational exposure,&#8221; in the case of hepatitis, meningococcal
meningitis, tuberculosis or HIV, means an exposure that occurs during the
performance of job duties that places a covered employee at risk of infection.

D. Persons covered under this section who test positive for exposure to the
enumerated occupational diseases, but have not yet incurred the requisite total
or partial disability, shall otherwise be entitled to make a claim for medical
benefits pursuant to &#xA7; 65.2-603, including entitlement to an annual medical
examination to measure the progress of the condition, if any, and any other
medical treatment, prophylactic or otherwise.

E. 1. Whenever any standard, medically-recognized vaccine or other form of
immunization or prophylaxis exists for the prevention of a communicable disease
for which a presumption is established under this section, if medically
indicated by the given circumstances pursuant to immunization policies
established by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the United
States Public Health Service, a person subject to the provisions of this section
may be required by such person&#8217;s employer to undergo the immunization or
prophylaxis unless the person&#8217;s physician determines in writing that the
immunization or prophylaxis would pose a significant risk to the person&#8217;s
health. Absent such written declaration, failure or refusal by a person subject
to the provisions of this section to undergo such immunization or prophylaxis
shall disqualify the person from any presumption established by this section.

   2. The presumptions described in subdivision B 1 shall not apply to any person
   offered by such person&#8217;s employer a vaccine for the prevention of
   COVID-19 with an Emergency Use Authorization issued by the U.S. Food and Drug
   Administration, unless the person is immunized or the person&#8217;s physician
   determines in writing that the immunization would pose a significant risk to
   the person&#8217;s health. Absent such written declaration, failure or refusal
   by a person subject to the provisions of this section to undergo such
   immunization shall disqualify the person from the presumptions described in
   subdivision B 1.

F. 1. The presumptions described in subsection A shall only apply if persons
entitled to invoke them have, if requested by the appointing authority or
governing body employing them, undergone preemployment physical examinations
that (i) were conducted prior to the making of any claims under this title that
rely on such presumptions; (ii) were performed by physicians whose
qualifications are as prescribed by the appointing authority or governing body
employing such persons; (iii) included such appropriate laboratory and other
diagnostic studies as the appointing authorities or governing bodies may have
prescribed; and (iv) found such persons free of hepatitis, meningococcal
meningitis, tuberculosis or HIV at the time of such examinations. The
presumptions described in subsection A shall not be effective until six months
following such examinations, unless such persons entitled to invoke such
presumption can demonstrate a documented exposure during the six-month period.

   2. The presumptions described in subdivision B 1 shall apply to any person
   entitled to invoke them for any death or disability occurring on or after
   March 12, 2020, caused by infection from the COVID-19 virus, provided that for
   any such death or disability that occurred on or after March 12, 2020, and
   prior to December 31, 2022, and;
   				a. Prior to July 1, 2020, the claimant received a positive diagnosis of
   COVID-19 from a licensed physician, an advanced practice registered nurse, or
   a physician assistant after either (i) a presumptive positive test or a
   laboratory-confirmed test for COVID-19 and presenting with signs and symptoms
   of COVID-19 that required medical treatment, or (ii) presenting with signs and
   symptoms of COVID-19 that required medical treatment absent a presumptive
   positive test or a laboratory-confirmed test for COVID-19; or
   				b. On or after July 1, 2020, and prior to December 31, 2022, the claimant
   received a positive diagnosis of COVID-19 from a licensed physician, an
   advanced practice registered nurse, or a physician assistant after a
   presumptive positive test or a laboratory-confirmed test for COVID-19 and
   presented with signs and symptoms of COVID-19 that required medical treatment.

   3. The presumptions described in subdivision B 2 shall apply to any person
   entitled to invoke them for any death or disability occurring on or after July
   1, 2020, caused by infection from the COVID-19 virus, provided that for any
   such death or disability that occurred on or after July 1, 2020, and prior to
   December 31, 2021, the claimant received a diagnosis of COVID-19 from a
   licensed physician, after either a presumptive positive test or a laboratory
   confirmed test for COVID-19, and presented with signs and symptoms of COVID-19
   that required medical treatment.

G. Persons making claims under this title who rely on such presumption shall,
upon the request of appointing authorities or governing bodies employing such
persons, submit to physical examinations (i) conducted by physicians selected by
such appointing authorities or governing bodies or their representatives and
(ii) consisting of such tests and studies as may reasonably be required by such
physicians. However, a qualified physician, selected and compensated by the
claimant, may, at the election of such claimant, be present at such examination.

HISTORY: 2002, c. 820; 2003, c. 842; 2007, cc. 87, 365; 2009, c. 417; 2011, c.
211; 2012, c. 776; 2015, cc. 38, 502, 503, 730; 2020, cc. 958, 1150, 1152; 2021,
Sp. Sess. I, cc. 507, 526, 547; 2022, c. 644; 2023, c. 183.