UCI Forward

UCI Forward is our commitment to the well-being of our community as we ramp up campus operations. Working together, each of us doing our part, we can move UCI Forward.

May 4 - Updates on COVID-19

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pinkroots

A large tree provides a blanket of shade for Aldrich Park. Photo by Judy Wu

TODAY’S CAMPUS UPDATES

No new campus cases*

No student residents or on-campus employees tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. For more information, visit the UCI COVID-19 dashboard.

UCI COVID-19 NEWS AND EVENTS

Upcoming events

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, OC Register and Washington Post for students, faculty and staff.

Pfizer to submit for vaccine emergency authorization for kids in Sept.

Pfizer expects to submit its COVID-19 vaccine for children ages two to 11 for U.S. FDA emergency use authorization in September, the company said on Tuesday.

Children now account for 22% of new US COVID cases

The number of children contracting COVID-19 in the U.S. is much lower than the record highs set at the start of the new year, but children now account for more than a fifth of new coronavirus cases in states that release data by age, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Just one year ago, child COVID cases made up only around 3% of the U.S. total.

California coronavirus cases plummet despite surges in other states

Even as Oregon and Washington face new COVID-19 surges, there is growing optimism that California remains in recovery mode as cases continue to fall dramatically along with related deaths. California has continued to do better than any state, with the lowest per capita coronavirus case rate in the nation over the last week.

Six California counties including L.A. could move to looser COVID tiers today

Los Angeles along with Marin, San Francisco and Trinity counties each entered this week able to move from orange into the loosest tier, yellow, if their COVID-19 case and test positivity rates hold low enough in today’s update.

O.C.’s vaccine strategy could soon shift to smaller clinics

Orange County’s vaccination efforts could switch from supersites to smaller, neighborhood clinics, as vaccinations drop and a statewide reopening draws closer.

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.

Why some restaurants have receipts on the walls

In a growing number of restaurants in Oklahoma, the walls are decorated with hanging receipts, and anyone can walk in, pull one down and order a meal free of charge. The receipts are put there by customers who prepay for food and tack them to the wall. They encourage people who are short on cash to enjoy everything from three-egg omelets to chicken-fried steak, no tips expected and no questions asked.

“Maybe if we can show people what it’s like to take care of your neighbor during a time of need, it will spread throughout the United States,” said Bless Parker, volunteer mayor of Miami, one of the towns participating in the activity. “We want to bring back the old hometown values that I saw when I was growing up here as a kid.”

#UCIconnected

One step closer to normal

Deepika Nathan

Health sciences Professor Deepika Nathan shares why she is happy to be vaccinated:
“The moment I received my first dose, I felt immense gratitude, hope and happiness that we were one step closer to our ‘new normal.’ I was awestruck by the meticulousness and dedication shown by my colleagues who were delivering the vaccine. I’m so much more grateful for everything and everyone around me. Thank you, UCI.”

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 COVID-19 vaccination, 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.