June 3 - Updates on COVID-19

Why we should record lectures post-pandemic

In the latest installment of his #DenninInsights blog, Vice Provost of Teaching and Learning Michael Dennin expands on the many ways that instructors can leverage videos and recorded content in their in-person courses.

#IamUCI: Mayara Costa Figueiredo, Ph.D. in informatics

If you’ve ever used a health app to track your menstrual cycle or count steps, you’ll want to follow Mayara Costa Figueiredo's research. An interest in the intersection of health informatics and human-computer interaction led Figueiredo from her native Brazil to UCI’s Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences, where she works under the supervision of Associate Professor Yunan Chen and Professor Kai Zheng in the Health and Informatics Lab. Her thesis focuses on understanding the uncertainties women face when self-tracking their fertility and how to better support them. Figueiredo’s goal is for her research to improve the design of self-tracking health apps. She says: “Apps should promote positive behaviors while setting realistic expectations.”

UC NEWS

Presidential Campus Safety Plan

Available for review and comment is a draft Presidential Campus Safety Plan (PDF) that lays a foundation for transforming UC’s culture, policies and practices to achieve a vision of safety in which all members of the community feel equally welcomed, respected and protected from harm. The UC community is welcome to share feedback, questions or comments through the 30-day period from June 1 – June 30 by sending an email to UCOPFeedback@uci.edu or campussafety@ucop.edu.

Rental car tips from UC Travel

With travel picking up again, these tips from UC Travel could help keep the price of your car rental reasonable.

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, OC Register and Washington Post for students, faculty and staff.

White House launches the COVID-19 College Challenge - UCI is an early participant!

Yesterday, the White House and the U.S. Department of Education launched the COVID-19 College Challenge by inviting colleges and universities across the country to join in efforts to end the pandemic by signing up. The initiative is part of the Administration's national vaccination “Month of Action,” taking place from June 4th to July 4th  to help reach the President’s goal of 70% of adults having at least one vaccine dose by Independence Day. Participating colleges commit to taking three key actions to help get their campus communities vaccinated: engaging every student, faculty, and staff member; organizing their college communities; and delivering vaccine access for all.

Costa Mesa repeals mask mandate

A mandate requiring facial coverings for all who enter Costa Mesa — in place for more than a year and fuel for frequent debates — was repealed this week in favor of less strict state guidelines.

L.A. County now projected to reach herd immunity in late August

With the number of people getting vaccinated each week continuing to decrease, public health officials now expect Los Angeles County won’t reach herd immunity before late August.

California to pay $2 million in churches’ legal fees over coronavirus closures

The State of California has agreed not to impose greater coronavirus restrictions on church gatherings than it does on retail establishments in a pair of settlements that provide more than $2 million in fees to lawyers who challenged the rules as a violation of religious freedom.

CDC revisits school mask guidance, changes may come by fall

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said school guidance is being revisited as more and younger people get vaccinated — and there may be a change in school mask guidance in time for fall.

Biden administration to share 80 million vaccine doses globally

The Biden administration announced a framework to share at least 80 million Covid-19 vaccine doses with the rest of the world by the end of June, including a more specific plan for the first 25 million doses.

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.

Young man with autism finds his jam at local McDonald’s, singing every order

A high school graduate is serving up huge smiles with his unique brand of customer service, which includes a musical ditty with every order. Daniel Marshall’s cheerful singing and joking with customers at a McDonald’s near Minneapolis, Minnesota, has earned him five star reviews like, “Best Drive Thru Ever!”

#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 COVID-19 vaccination, activities, workstation, volunteering, etc., to marketing@uci.edu or post on social media with the #UCIconnected hashtag.