July 2 - Updates on COVID-19

Happy 4th of July, Anteaters! Steve Zylius/UCI

TODAY’S CAMPUS UPDATES

Editor’s note

We're taking a break from publishing Monday in honor of Independence Day and will be back in your inbox Tuesday with a new format. Starting Tuesday, the name of this daily newsletter will change from “UCI COVID-19 Latest Updates” to “UCI Digest” and feature a broader range of campus news, events and updates.

New campus cases*

*Beginning Tuesday, July 6, this section will only be included when there is a new case to report.

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

UCI COVID-19 NEWS AND EVENTS

Dennin Insights: What does it mean to be an independent learner?

In episode #15 of Vice Provost Michael Dennin’s Dennin Insights, he explores one of the most common claims from universities that we train “independent learners.” While it conveys a sense of self-motivation and self-actualization where the student owns and takes responsibility for their learning, we often equate the concept of the independent learner with the idea of “doing it on your own”—something that he argues no one actually does.

Newkirk Center fellowship program teaches graduate students a way to engage with groups they study

Each month, through UCI’s Research Justice Shop, graduate students meet to provide support and learn firsthand about community-based research. They work with residents and local organizers to tackle issues including water pollution, air quality and COVID-19. Led by Victoria Lowerson Bredow, director of engaged scholarship, and Connie McGuire, director of community relationships, the RJS aims to reshape the way scholars engage with the groups they study.

UC NEWS

Friday fun fact

Corner office: Pitchbook reports that UC alumni hold more than 1,200 C-suite (i.e., chief financial officer, chief executive officer) positions, with more than 700 located in California.

UC announces new Board of Regents Chair

The University of California announced the recent appointment of Regent Cecilia V.  Estolano to chair of the UC Board of Regents for 2021-22, effective July 1. Chair Estolano was elected by her colleagues and will oversee her first board meeting in July.

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.

Orange County shows uptick in hospitalizations

Hospitalizations jumped from 56 on Wednesday to 70 on Thursday, while the number of intensive care unit patients increased from 10 to 13. The county won’t have another update until next week as officials move to weekly instead of daily reporting.

Breakthrough cases are rare in California

About 7,550 out of more than 19.5 million Californians who were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 have contracted the disease, a minuscule percentage that provides strong evidence of the vaccines’ effectiveness, according to state data.

The US isn't following the WHO’s mask guidance

The World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are out of step in their COVID-19 mask guidance, prompting confusion. The WHO says vaccinated individuals should wear masks indoors. The CDC says vaccinated individuals may relinquish masks indoors and outdoors two weeks after their second dose.

J&J vaccine lasts at least 8 months, protects against Delta variant

The Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine provides immunity that lasts at least eight months, and it appears to provide adequate protection against the Delta variant, the company said.

Nearly 5 out of 6 coronavirus cases were undetected in pandemic’s early months

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health who studied blood samples from across the United States have discovered that for every coronavirus infection recorded during the spring and summer of 2020, nearly five more went undetected — amounting to nearly 17 million additional cases by July 2020. The discovery, published this week in the journal Science Translational Medicine, reveals that the coronavirus was far more widespread in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic than previously thought, and could help scientists and health officials better respond to future outbreaks.

Experts question if WHO should lead pandemic origins probe

The first part of a joint World Health Organization-China study of how COVID-19 started concluded in March. As the WHO draws up plans for the next phase of its probe of how the coronavirus pandemic started, numerous experts say that political tensions between the U.S. and China make it impossible for an investigation by the agency to find credible answers.

HOPE, INSPIRATION, LAUGHTER

How to be happy

We know happiness can predict health and longevity, and happiness scales can be used to measure social progress and the success of public policies. But happiness isn’t something that just happens to you. Everyone has the power to make small changes in our behavior, our surroundings and our relationships that can help set us on course for a happier life.

#UCIconnected

TO A UCI FACULTY MEMBER,
The job you have goes well beyond the classroom. You teach us more than the discipline you specialize in. You do more than just putting together a lecture, or exam, or practice worksheet. You don’t just grade our essays & give us feedback on our assignments. You work hard to give us the tools for academic success, & at the same time, you are a leader that inspires us. You care for your students & guide them. Thank you for having the strength, empathy, & passion to teach us to become tomorrow’s scholars.
-a UCI freshman

The All-truism project (@alltruism_uci on Instagram), which is supported through a Barnes & Noble College Scholarship, aims to create connections through community, compassion and the creative arts. In this series, Anteaters write letters to faculty and staff.

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.