Nov. 22 - Direction on COVID boosters, tests for holiday travelers
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Ring Road magic hour: This was taken at sunset last week. Photo by Steve Zylius/UCI
In this continuing series, UCI experts answer questions about COVID-19, vaccinations, variants or the future of work. Submit questions via email.
Today's question is answered by David Souleles, director of UCI’s COVID-19 Response Team:
Will UCI or the UC require vaccinated employees to get a booster shot? If so, will there be a clinic on campus and way to record having received a booster?
On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention authorized COVID-19 booster doses for all adults who received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. Previously, boosters had been limited to certain populations such as those over 65 and those with underlying health conditions. With this change, any adult who received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine is eligible for a booster six months after the last dose. All adults who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are eligible for a booster dose two months after their first dose.
Eligible individuals may choose which vaccine they want as a booster dose. Some people may have a preference for the vaccine type they originally received and others may prefer to get a different booster. CDC's recommendations allow for this type of mix-and-match dosing for booster shots.
The University of California recommends boosters for all adults. Vaccine is widely available from healthcare providers, clinics and pharmacies. At this time, UCI is not organizing employee vaccine clinics on campus. UCI is not yet collecting verification of third doses or boosters, but information on that process will be shared when it becomes available. For the latest COVID-19 information, please continue to visit the UCI Forward website at www.uci.edu/coronavirus.
UCI ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS
COVID tests available for holiday travelers
UCI’s “drop-in” asymptomatic COVID-19 testing is available for students and employees who may be traveling and want results before or after traveling and attending a gathering. Hours today through Wednesday are 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at:
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Student Center, Crescent Bay A-D, 311 W. Peltason Dr.
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Plaza Verde, 15000 Arroyo Dr.
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UClub, 801 E. Peltason Dr.
All testing sites return to the normal schedule the week of Nov. 29. UCI Forward has more information on gathering safely this holiday season.
Housing updates for the Thanksgiving break
Student Housing has shared important updates for those traveling or remaining on campus over Thanksgiving weekend. Included are directions on testing, vaccination, Student Health Center hours, the After Hours Nurse Advice Line and isolation instructions.
UC NEWS AND GENERAL NEWS
UC to continue test-free admissions
The UC will not use any standardized test for admissions decisions “now and into the future,” Provost Michael Brown told the Board of Regents last week. The declaration ends three years of research and debate on whether the SAT and alternative tests do more harm than good when assessing applicants.
Pfizer’s COVID vaccine is 100% effective in youths: study
The company and BioNTech announced today that their vaccine was 100% efficacious in preventing infections in 12- to 15-year-olds, measured from seven days to four months after administration of the second dose of the vaccine. The new data from a long-term study will inform an FDA application for an extension of the Pfizer vaccine license to cover youths in the age group.
U.S. COVID Deaths in 2021 Surpass 2020’s
The number of U.S. COVID-19 deaths recorded in 2021 has surpassed the toll in 2020, according to federal data and Johns Hopkins University. The total number of reported deaths linked to the disease topped 770,800 on Saturday, Johns Hopkins data show. This puts the pandemic-long total at more than twice the 385,343 COVID deaths that the CDC recorded last year.
Americans should get vaccine boosters ahead of possibly ‘dangerous’ winter spike, Fauci says
Those who have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus should get booster shots ahead of a winter spike that could be “dangerous” due to the rampant spread of the virus among the unvaccinated, advises Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert. Addressing the recent rise in U.S. cases, Fauci said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, “Get vaccinated if you’re not vaccinated and boostered if you have been vaccinated.”
UCI IN THE NEWS
Note: Some news sites require subscriptions to read articles. The UCI Libraries offer free subscriptions to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Orange County Register and The Washington Post for students, faculty and staff.
Climate change could fuel bigger summer waves in Southern California
Orange County Register, Nov. 19
Cited: Brett Sanders, professor of civil and environmental engineering, and urban planning and public policy
As Gerrymanders Get Worse, Legal Options to Overturn Them Dwindle
The New York Times, Nov. 21
Cited: Rick Hasen, Chancellor’s Professor of law
For many men, apps can be ‘an important gateway to mental health’
The Washington Post, Nov. 20
Cited: Stephen Schueller, associate professor of psychological sciences and informatics
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