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 5 - Updates on COVID-19

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National Unplug Day is March 5 and 6. Graphic shows unplugged plug.

National Day of Unplugging is from sundown-to-sundown March 5-6. To inspire a healthy life/tech balance for our community, we are promoting the 24-hour break from digital engagement. Take out that book you’ve been meaning to read, play a board game or go on a hike. The possibilities are endless.

TODAY'S CAMPUS UPDATES

UCI employees are eligible for the vaccine

We encourage you to get vaccinated through any available channel as soon as possible – do not wait for vaccine availability at UCI. Some community-based sites will require proof of eligibility, so please bring an employment verification letter, pay stub and ID to the vaccination site. Employment verification letters may be obtained by contacting the COVID Response Center at covid19@uci.edu or UCPath. Additional information is in the Feb. 19 campus message.

Registering for a vaccine appointment

The statewide online portal for registering to receive the vaccine is myturn.ca.gov. As appointments become available, the California Department of Public Health will contact you if you’ve registered at this site. In addition, certain cities and counties have their own health departments that offer additional resources. If you live in Long Beach, go to http://longbeach.gov/health/ and sign up for VaxLB. If you live in Riverside County, sign up at https://www.rivcoph.org/COVID-19-Vaccine-with-Registration. For San Bernardino, go to https://sbcovid19.com/vaccine/locations/. Pharmacies are also beginning to offer appointments, so check with your local drug store.

Spring quarter is around the corner

In preparation for the 2021-22 academic year, Willie Banks, vice chancellor of student affairs, is reminding students to begin their housing planning process by visiting Anteater Housing Network. The size of the on-campus housing population will be increased but still be below pre-pandemic levels, so off-campus housing inventory will be impacted due to greater demand. Students are also encouraged to continue participating in the Daily Symptom Check and asymptomatic testing, if they are eligible.

No new campus cases*

No students or campus employees tested positive for COVID-19 during the previous 24 hours. Experts stress that the pandemic isn’t over and vigilance is still necessary. Keep up the good work. For more information, visit the UCI COVID-19 dashboard.

UCI COVID-19 NEWS AND EVENTS

Upcoming events

UC NEWS

Friday Fun Fact

UC volunteers: UC estimates for the 437,000 alumni graduating between 2000 to 2010, they are responsible for about 22.3 million volunteer hours annually, or the equivalent of 11,200 full-time workers.

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.

How to get a vaccine in Orange County

Orange County is currently vaccinating residents and those who work in the county in phases 1A and 1B – which include critical and healthcare workers; residents of long-term care facilities; people 65 and older; educators; food service, grocery and agriculture workers; childcare providers and emergency services. There are many options to get vaccinated; here’s how to get an appointment.

Long Beach offers hundreds of vaccinations to food industry employees, no appointment needed

Long Beach issued an invitation to employees who are the backbone of the city’s food industry to visit the city’s Convention Center Friday and get vaccinated. The city’s super-sized vaccination event at 300 East Ocean Boulevard will deliver shots to thousands of people in the food industry, including restaurant and grocery workers.

California Legislature OKs plan aimed at in-person learning

California lawmakers on Thursday approved a $6.6 billion plan aimed at pressuring school districts to return students to the classroom before the end of the school year. The bill does not order school districts to resume in-person instruction and it does not say parents must send their kids back to the classroom if they don’t want to.

COVID vaccine updates: 10% of California adults fully vaccinated; plan to boost disadvantaged groups

California continues to inch toward 10 million total doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered, as the state’s priority and eligibility rules continue to shift. The California Department of Public Health reported Thursday that providers have administered 9,673,787 doses to date. The total increased by 215,065 compared to Wednesday.

California hospitals given leeway to use ‘last resort’ staffing waivers, analysis shows

Santiago, a representative for the National Nurses United union, said he’s cared for dozens of COVID-19 patients as a rapid response nurse at Palomar. Over time, the stress and exhaustion have weighed on him. It only got worse after the hospital received a staffing waiver from the state in December, he said. Suddenly, each ICU nurse could care for up to three patients instead of two.

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.

The Tonight Show parodies Beauty and the Beast

Jimmy Fallon showcases a hidden talent as he sings (along with John Legend) a parody of “Belle” from Beauty and the Beast. The song, titled “March Again,” is an ode to a full year spent in quarantine.

Dolly Parton encourages fans to get the vaccine

Last year, Dolly Parton donated $1 million to help develop the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Now, the legendary singer “gets a dose of her own medicine” and encourages others to do the same with a parody of her hit “Jolene.”

#UCIconnected

With support from UCI Student Affairs, student Karishma Muthukumar, who is UCI’s Dalai Lama scholar and a Barnes & Noble College Scholar, led a campuswide call for letters of support to UCI students. The initiative was part of The All-truism project, and more letters can be found on Instagram. All-truism (“we can all be true”) is a new project supported by the Barnes & Noble Scholarship that aims to create connections through community, compassion and the creative arts.

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.