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.

March 3 - Updates on COVID-19

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Graphic reads 'Do you have to do anything before getting the COVID-19 vaccine?

Do you have to do anything before getting the COVID-19 vaccine?
Yes. Do not take over-the-counter medications such as aspirin, acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Motrin or Advil). These can lower your response to the vaccine. #ThisIsOurShot #UCIForward

TODAY'S CAMPUS UPDATES

Tell us your COVID storiesMegaphone

What have you learned or how have you changed since the pandemic began? Did you start a new hobby, reach a personal epiphany, wrestle with loss, or find a silver lining? March 11 will mark one year since the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a global pandemic. As the anniversary approaches, we’d like to hear your most memorable stories, lessons and anecdotes. Please send memories and/or photos you’d like us to consider publishing to marketing@uci.edu or post on social media with the #UCIconnected hashtag.

New campus cases*

Two students tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday. For more information, visit the UCI COVID-19 dashboard.

UCI COVID-19 NEWS AND EVENTS

COVID-19 questions answered with Dr. Susan Huang

The Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute offers “Q & A with an expert,” featuring Dr. Susan Huang, director, epidemiology and infection prevention, UCI School of Medicine. Here, Dr. Huang answers frequently asked questions about the COVID-19 vaccine.

Upcoming events

UC NEWS

UC summit will focus on student involvement in the war on global hunger

The University of California is hosting a free online summit in March focused on the role that college students can play in ending world hunger and the related challenges posed by climate change. The summit’s theme is One Health, One Planet, and it will be held March 25 and 26. There is no charge to attend, but participants must register by March 12.

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.

COVID-19 vaccine distribution channels

There are many ways to get a vaccine. Here is an infographic of vaccine distribution channels.

Disneyland vaccine site to temporarily close to install drive-thru access

The coronavirus vaccine supersite at Disneyland will close Thursday through the weekend for officials to reconfigure it to include drive-thru vaccinations. When it reopens, the site will be capable of providing drive-thru vaccinations, specifically to serve people disabilities.

CVS to receive 200,000 doses of newly approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine

CVS announced it would receive the recently approved COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson in coming days. Shipments of the vaccine began on Monday, after receiving emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug administration over the weekend.

U.S. will have enough COVID-19 vaccines for all adults by May 31, Biden says

President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the U.S. expects to take delivery of enough coronavirus vaccines for all adult Americans by the end of May, two months earlier than anticipated, as his administration announced that drugmaker Merck & Co. will help produce rival Johnson & Johnson’s newly approved shot.

California colleges slowly begin vaccinating faculty, students – but likely won’t require immunization

Educators qualify for vaccine prioritization in the current 1B phase of California’s vaccine rollout. Vaccine availability varies by county, however, meaning some colleges have been able to begin immunizations while others still await guidance from local health officials. On Monday, the state will begin transitioning to a new vaccine distribution system overseen by health insurer Blue Shield, which officials say will create more consistency among counties.

A picture of U.S. COVID restrictions

This infographic shows the mask mandates, stay-at-home orders, and business openings of all 50 states.

What life is like for COVID-19’s ‘patient zero’

A year ago, a father of four from this New York City suburb deteriorated in days from having a mild cough to feeling like he was drowning. He was one of New York’s first coronavirus cases. Now, the 51-year-old counsels other COVID-19 patients and has agreed to requests from several researchers to track his medical data over time, in hopes of learning more about COVID-19’s effects on the lungs, heart and nervous system.

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.

Yard sale find turns out to be artifact worth up to $500,000

Talk about your yard sale finds. A small porcelain bowl bought for $35 at a Connecticut yard sale turned out to be a rare, 15th century Chinese artifact worth between $300,000 and $500,000. The piece, one of only seven such bowls known to exist in the world, will be up for auction in New York on March 17 as part of Sotheby’s Auction of Important Chinese Art.

The tiny doors in the U.S. capitol

Have you ever wondered what the tiny doors at the U.S Capitol are for? Watch this 90-second video to find out.

#UCIconnected

Artwork from

With the support of the Student Affairs Division, student Karishma Muthukumar, who is both UCI’s Dalai Lama scholar and Barnes & Noble College Scholar, led a campus-wide call for letters of support for other UCI students. The initiative was part of The All-truism project, and more letters can be found on the Instagram page. All-truism (“we can all be true”) is a newly-launched project supported by the Barnes & Noble Scholarship. All-truism aims to create connections through community, compassion, and the creative arts. During each call for letters, anteaters write for a theme and population. Here anteaters write letters to anteaters.

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.