Jan. 3 - Omicron is here, Physicians of Excellence
Section 1
Message from Instagram/@ucirvine: Wishing the Anteater community a happy and healthy 2022!
UCI ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS
The omicron surge is here
From Dec. 14 through Sunday, UCI had 415 positive COVID-19 cases, including 193 in the past six days. This compares to 326 cases in total during the fall quarter. On Sunday, 550 people were tested on campus. Today, 2,400 tests are scheduled, which is a single-day campus testing record.
Besides happy 2022 wishes, the Anteater community received important health and safety information about the return to instruction and the campus in a Sunday message from Hal Stern, provost and executive vice chancellor; Ramona Agrela, chief human resources officer & vice chancellor; Willie L. Banks Jr., vice chancellor, Student Affairs; and Steve Goldstein, vice chancellor, Health Affairs.
The message includes sections for resident students, commuter students, faculty/staff and the entire UCI community. Of particular note is the isolation/quarantine guidance.
UCI Health is unmatched for excellence
The Orange County Medical Association has named 187 UCI Health doctors 2022 Physicians of Excellence, which is more than any other hospital in the region. The prestigious honor is announced in this month’s issue of Orange Coast magazine, which recognizes more than 740 Orange County physicians in over 65 specialties. The issue's cover features Dr. José Mayorga, executive director of UCI Health Family Health Centers, for his work educating the community about COVID-19 and other important health topics.
Winter Anteater Involvement Fair postponed
The Winter Anteater Involvement Fair 2022, which the Office of Campus Organizations & Volunteer Programs originally scheduled for Tuesday, has been postponed. Details on a new date for the event that enables students to learn about campus organizations will be published in UCI Digest soon.
UC NEWS AND GENERAL NEWS
FDA authorizes first COVID-19 booster shot for ages 12 to 15
The Food and Drug Administration today extended the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer and BioNTech booster shot to include teens aged 12 to 15, paving the way for them to be eligible for the jabs later this week. It is the first booster shot to be authorized for this age group.
Studies suggest why omicron is less severe: It spares the lungs
Compared with earlier variants, the mutation may cause less damage to the lungs, new animal research suggests. Infections were often limited to mice and hamsters’ upper airway: the nose, throat and windpipe.
People with omicron less likely to need hospitalization: UK report
Those who contracted the omicron variant were about half as likely to need hospital care as those infected with the delta variant, and one-third as likely to need emergency care, according to a report issued Friday by British health officials. The analysis of public data also found that vaccination offers strong protection against hospitalization and severe illness after omicron infection.
EVENTS
UC Immigrant Legal Services
Wednesday, 5 p.m. (sponsored by Latinx Resource Center)
Visit today.uci.edu to see and submit event listings. Events of general interest will be shared in UCI Digest two days before they occur.
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.
UCLA, UCI Begin Winter Quarter Classes Remotely
KCBS, Jan. 3
Cited: Chancellor Howard Gillman
Most influential: Meet Orange County’s 125 top influencers for 2021
The Orange County Register, Dec. 26
Named: Philip Felgner, director of the Vaccine Research and Development Center, and David Souleles, director of the COVID-19 Response Team
The pandemic has caused nearly two years of collective trauma. Many people are near a breaking point.
The Washington Post, Dec. 24
Cited: Roxane Cohen Silver, vice provost, academic planning and institutional research and Distinguished Professor of psychological science, medicine and public health