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.

February 25 - Updates on COVID-19

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ANTEATER TIME MACHINE

Planet of the apes

A scene from 1972’s “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes,” a sci-fi sequel filmed on campus. The movie’s director thought UCI’s Brutalist architectural style and still-barren landscape matched his vision of a post-nuclear future.

TODAY'S CAMPUS UPDATES

Town Hall recap

For those who missed today’s UCI Health Affairs Town Hall on the COVID-19 Vaccine, the event and Q&A was recorded and can be viewed on Vimeo. A few highlights:

  • Director & Founding Dean for Public Health Dean Bernadette Boden-Albala discussed vaccine trends and access. One notable tidbit: Although Orange County has extended vaccination eligibility to more categories, including UCI employees under Phase 1B, 70% of vaccinations are still earmarked for people in Phase 1A.

  • Dr. Susan Huang answered the top 10 questions UCI hears about the vaccines (starting just after the 29-minute mark).

  • Other Q&As, which covered everything from vaccine eligibility for student employees (yes) to whether vaccinated people can still transmit the virus (shedding is reduced), begin at the 59-minute mark.

One new campus case*

One campus employee and no students tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday. For more information, visit the UCI COVID-19 dashboard.

UCI COVID-19 NEWS AND EVENTS

Vaccine fact sheets

Detailed information and tips about the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines can now be accessed via UCI Forward’s COVID-19 vaccine information page.

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 and OC Register ;for students, faculty and staff.

Stop panicking about COVID variants, expert says

A UCSF infectious disease specialist says the vaccines are effective at preventing serious illness, even from virus variants. And, as cases continue to plummet, two other experts predict the pandemic could be largely over in the U.S. before May.

Delays mar Blue Shield’s California vaccine rollout

State officials hired the healthcare giant to improve California’s troubled vaccine distribution program, but glitches and problems persist.

OC restaurants eager for red tier to resume indoor dining

With county COVID numbers cruising toward less restrictive red-tier territory, dining establishments are preparing for the return of indoor service, albeit at 25% capacity.

Nursing home cases have plunged faster than rest of U.S.

Since vaccinations began, new cases of COVID among nursing home residents fell by more than 80%, nearly double the rate of improvement in the general population. The trendline for deaths was even more striking: decreasing by more than 65% in nursing homes even as fatalities elsewhere climbed.

Amid pandemic, flu has nearly vanished in U.S.

So much for all those predictions of a “twindemic” of COVID and influenza. Flu cases are at their lowest level in decades. But that makes it challenging to develop this fall’s flu vaccine, which is typically based on the strains circulating now.

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.

Mr. Potato Head goes gender-neutral

The 70-year-old toy is dropping the “Mr.” part of its name, according to Hasbro.

Top shots from 2020 international landscape photo contest

Feast your eye on these mesmerizing scenes of nature’s beauty.

#UCIconnected

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.