April 23 - Updates on COVID-19

The Ants in your Plants Garden, otherwise known as the Arroyo Vista Garden, grows fresh, local and organic produce to be donated to the FRESH Basic Needs Hub on campus. The garden project is a partnership between ASUCI and Student Housing. Photo courtesy of Student Housing

TODAY’S CAMPUS UPDATES

No new campus cases*

No student residents or on-campus employees tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. For more information, visit the UCI COVID-19 dashboard.

UCI COVID-19 NEWS AND EVENTS

El COVID-19 en Español/COVID-19 in Spanish

The schools of Medicine and Biological Sciences recently hosted a virtual event about the coronavirus and the vaccine, held entirely in Spanish.

UC NEWS

Friday fun fact

Research spending: UC accounts for nearly 9 percent of all research expenditures among U.S. universities.

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.

White House expects vaccination rates to ‘moderate and fluctuate’

White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said during Friday’s coronavirus briefing that the federal government expects daily vaccination rates to "moderate and fluctuate" during the next stage of the US vaccination program.

Nearly 70% of people with mild COVID had lingering health problems up to 6 months later, CDC finds

A new study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found people with mild or asymptomatic forms of COVID-19 can have long-term medical problems. According to the study, nearly 70% of patients who hadn’t been hospitalized for COVID-19 needed to go back to the doctor 28 to 180 days after their initial diagnosis.

CDC advisers meet to discuss J&J vaccine

Vaccine advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are meeting now to discuss how to move forward with Johnson & Johnson's Janssen coronavirus vaccine. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is scheduled to meet until to 5 p.m. ET Friday and to vote on updated recommendations for use of the vaccine and whether it's likely to be linked to a rare blood clotting syndrome they are calling thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome.

Anaheim Convention Center reopens for event

The Anaheim Convention Center is set to hold its first event in more than a year this weekend, with recent state guidelines allowing certain events and meetings for counties in the orange tier. The convention center has been shuttered for events, meetings and conventions since February 2020, and has since served as a mass vaccination and COVID-19 testing site.

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.

How to see the ‘Super Pink Moon’ on Tuesday

A “supermoon” occurs when the Moon moves closest to the Earth in its elliptical orbit while in its “full” phase, making it look up to 30% larger and brighter than usual. From North America, the best view will be at moonrise on Tuesday, April 27. Stand somewhere with a clear view of the eastern horizon around dusk, about 45 minutes after sunset, and watch the “Super Pink Moon” rise as a delicate peachy orb.

#UCIconnected

Back-to-back vaccination

Amy Pratt (left), postdoctoral scholar in the School of Education, and Mine Dogucu (right), teaching professor in the Department of Statistics, coincidentally had a back-to-back vaccine appointment about 60 miles from campus. They cannot wait to reunite with their colleagues and students back on campus, they said.

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 COVID-19 vaccination, 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.