February 16 - Updates on COVID-19
Section 1
CAMPUS SNAPSHOT
Reflected in the glass windows of the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building (ISEB), an individual pauses to take in the view from the stairwell. Steve Zylius/UCI
TODAY'S CAMPUS UPDATES
New campus cases*
Three students and one employee reported testing positive between 2/12/21 and 2/15/21 (Friday through Monday). There are currently 18 active positive cases.
UCI COVID-19 NEWS AND EVENTS
UCI Podcast: Why low-income children suffer the most during remote learning
With more and more people receiving vaccines, the end of remote learning is in sight. But schools will still need to implement COVID-19 mitigation strategies, according to doctors from UCI Health. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, Dr. Dan Cooper and Dr. Chulie Ulloa discuss school reopenings and the impact of distance learning on children.
Events
- ICYMI: Here is the link to the recently recorded UCI BioSci panel discussion “COVID-19: Moving Beyond the Pandemic” on YouTube.
UC NEWS
President Drake to discuss UC priorities at the PPIC on Feb. 18
The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) will welcome President Michael V. Drake, M.D. on Thursday, Feb. 18, from 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. (PT). President Drake will share his perspective about the short- and long-term priorities for UC and higher education in California. Topics will include major ongoing challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic impact, as well as racial equity.
GENERAL COVID-19 NEWS
This section curates noteworthy coronavirus news, trends and opinions. No endorsement by UCI is implied. Note: Some news sites require subscriptions to read articles. The UCI Libraries offer free subscriptions to The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and OC Register ;for students, faculty and staff.
OC makes push to vaccinate those with less access
“I think that the county now really recognizes that there are challenges. It’s not just ‘If you have vaccine, they will come,’” said Bernadette Boden-Albala, dean of UC Irvine’s School of Public Health and a member of the county’s vaccine task force. “Equity is about making sure that everybody has the same access.”
WHO approves AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday listed AstraZeneca and Oxford University’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, widening access to the relatively inexpensive shot in the developing world.
Pace of coronavirus vaccination quickens in Orange County
Vaccinations have steadily sped up over the two months since they began in Orange County. As of last week, about 15,000 were being administered per day.
CDC chief warns it’s too soon in U.S. to lift COVID-19 mask mandates
Whether Americans can look forward to walking down the street without wearing a mask by the end of the year “very much depends on how we behave right now,” said the head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Blue Shield of California planning 3 million COVID-19 shots a week by March
Blue Shield of California will create an algorithm to determine where to allocate COVID-19 vaccines statewide with the goal of being able to administer 3 million shots a week by March 1, according to a contract that grants the insurance giant far-reaching powers in overseeing the state’s distribution of doses.
2 FEMA sites open today in CA
Today, Tuesday, Feb. 16, two new mass vaccination sites with doses from the federal government open in Oakland and Los Angeles. The two sites will be jointly run with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. This is part of President Biden’s effort to create 100 mass vaccination sites nationwide in 100 days.
LA County to let elementary schools reopen
As COVID-19 cases decline and hospitals improve their available capacity, Los Angeles County has hit a state milestone for allowing elementary schools to reopen. However some districts, such as Los Angeles Unified, have said they don’t think they should reopen until teachers and staff are vaccinated.
LAUSD to launch COVID-19 vaccine site for eligible employees this week
The Los Angeles Unified School District is gearing up to open a coronavirus vaccine site at one of its schools this week. LAUSD’s first COVID-19 vaccination center will be at Roybal Learning Center, located at 1200 Colton Street near downtown Los Angeles.
HOPE, INSPIRATION, LAUGHTER
Amid the heartbreaking loss of life and economic hardship wrought by the coronavirus, we recognize the need for stories of kindness, hope, courage and humor.
A ‘tip war’ between alums of two colleges for restaurant workers raises money
Last month, a “tip war” broke out in Cincinnati, Ohio, between alumni and fans of two rival universities. Fans of Xavier University and the University of Cincinnati were topping each other’s generous tips at local restaurants and in just one month, more than $34,000 has been raised to support restaurant workers in Cincinnati hurt by the pandemic.
#UCIconnected
Jennifer Lane from the School of Social Ecology sent in this photo of her latest project during the pandemic.
If you have a shoutout, or if you’d like to share what you’ve been up to during the pandemic, send photos and/or words about your activities, workstation, volunteering, etc., to marketing@uci.edu or post on social media with the #UCIconnected hashtag.
EXPOSURE NOTIFICATION
* Potential workplace exposure: UCI provides this notification of a potential workplace COVID-19 exposure. Employees and subcontractors who were in these locations on the dates listed may have been exposed to the coronavirus. You may be entitled to various benefits under applicable federal and state laws and University-specific policies and agreements. The full notification is available on the UCI Forward site. If you have been identified as a close contact to a COVID-19 case, the UCI Contact Tracing Program will contact you and provide additional direction.