Sept. 24 - Vaccinated and exposed, free safety escorts
Section 1
Move-in weekend was an emotional time for students, parents and siblings. Video by Steve Chang
Each day, a UCI expert will answer one of your questions about COVID-19, vaccinations, variants or the future of work. Submit questions via email.
Today’s question is answered by UCI Forward
What is the procedure for someone who is vaccinated and asymptomatic, but who has been exposed to COVID-19?
If you are fully vaccinated and not experiencing symptoms, you do not need to quarantine. However, you do need to test three to five days after exposure and wear a mask indoors for 14 days or until you have a negative result.
UCI ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS
Free safety escorts offered 24 hours a day
The Community Service Office’s Safety Escort program is offered to members of the UCI community on the main campus, at University Research Park, in all campus housing areas and at University Town Center Apartments. When requesting a safety escort at 949-824-SAFE (7233), you'll need to provide your name, location, cell phone number and destination. A uniformed CSO officer will then escort you to your destination. That officer is equipped with a radio that allows for constant communication with police dispatch, which will be informed once you've safely reached your destination. Because of the pandemic, safety escorts are conducted on foot. Vehicle rides have been suspended.
Mental health and emotional well-being support available
The UCI Counseling Center and the Center for Student Wellness & Health Promotion provide mental health and emotional well-being support. To schedule an appointment or learn more about Counseling Center services, call 949-824-6457 Mondays through Fridays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. A return phone call from the Counseling Center will come from a blocked number. You can also contact the Center for Student Wellness & Health Promotion to make a 30- to 60-minute confidential appointment for an emotional well-being consultation. Email Doug Everhart, director & interim Emotional Well-being Programs manager, at everhart@uci.edu for more information. For more health and wellness resources, visit this website.
For life-threatening emergencies or urgent care needs 24/7:
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Call 949-824-6457 and select Option 2. You will be transferred to a crisis support line
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Text “Home” to 741741 to reach the Crisis Text Line
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Call National Suicide Prevention Line at 1-800-273-8255
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Call UCI Campus Police at 949-824-5223
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Call 911
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Go to your nearest emergency room
Employee reminder: complete Return to Onsite Work Training
All faculty and staff are reminded to complete the Return-to-Onsite Work training. This training is required by Cal/OSHA and the California Department of Public Health, even if you will continue to work remotely. On the UCLC site, click on “Find A Course” and search for “Return to On-Site Work” to register.
School of Humanities is looking up
A great mosque constructed in a booming 14th-century Indian city, the first Chinese restaurant in the U.S. and the inspiration behind Kafka’s Metamorphosis are among the subjects of the new “Humanities: It’s Time” outdoor museum. A significant historical moment from around the world that the humanities help us understand is depicted on each of 21 light-pole banners near the School of Humanities. A corresponding QR code for each banner links to more information about the historical moment and the identity of the faculty member who selected it.
UC NEWS AND GENERAL NEWS
Friday fun fact
With 68 faculty and researchers winning 69 Nobel Prizes, the UC would rank fifth as a country in the number of awards received.
UC President Michael V. Drake addresses system-wide issues
Last week’s UC IT Town Hall featured UC President Drake, who expressed his desire to improve cybersecurity, inclusion and diversity system-wide. If you were not among the more than 700 people who joined remotely, you can still watch the UC IT Town Hall recording.
UC logs impressive vaccination totals
The University of California is pleased that as of Wednesday, 93 percent of students and 87 percent of employees system-wide have been documented as fully vaccinated for COVID-19, which in total is nearly half a million people. The University’s ongoing focus is encouraging vaccination along with preventative measures to fight the pandemic.
California faces nursing shortage from COVID-19 retirements
The Golden State will face a significant shortfall of registered nurses over the next five years because of long-term trends that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report by the UC San Francisco Health Workforce Research Center on Long-Term Care.
CDC chief OKs boosters for health-care workers
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted Thursday to allow several groups of Americans to get a booster shot, but voted not to recommend it for adults ages 18 to 64 who live or work in a place where the risk of COVID-19 is high. That would have included health-care workers and other frontline employees. But CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, decided to reverse that recommendation and include the 18-to-64-year-olds in her final decision earlier today, WebMD reports.
House drops private student loan pandemic relief
But Congress did advance a measure to provide student loan forgiveness for borrowers with disabilities, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators reports.
EVENTS
From Pandemic Blues to Joy – Start “Practicing” Positive Emotions
Tuesday, 11 a.m. (sponsored by HR Wellness)
Photographic Encounters: Visual Technologies and Missionary Modernity in Republican China
Tuesday, 2 p.m. (sponsored by UCI Long U.S.-China Institute)
Visit today.uci.edu to see and submit event listings. Events of general interest will be shared in UCI Digest two days before they occur.
UCI IN THE NEWS
UCI receives $30 million for medical research building
Spectrum News 1, Sept. 23
Cited: Chancellor Howard Gillman
Why California wildfires are particularly destructive in fall
The Weather Channel, Sept. 23
Cited: Tirtha Banerjee, assistant professor of civil & environmental engineering
Neuroscientists find how associative memories are made
Tech Times, Sept. 24
Cited: Kei Igarashi, assistant professor of anatomy & neurobiology and Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory fellow
#UCICONNECTED
What do we all scream for? Free ice cream, lawn games and informational booths generated smiles at the Graduate and Family Housing move-in celebration Tuesday. Photo courtesy of Student Housing
#UCIconnected spotlights student, alumni, faculty and staff photos, essays, shoutouts, hobbies, artwork, unusual office decorations, activities and more. Send submissions via email or post on social media with the #UCIconnected hashtag.
COVID-19 NOTIFICATION AND RESOURCES
One new campus case
An on-campus employee tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. For more information, visit the UCI COVID-19 dashboard.
Remember to upload your vaccine record
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.
For COVID-19 questions
UCI Forward - information on campus status and operational updates
UCI Health COVID-19 Updates - important information related to UCI Health
UCI Coronavirus Response Center - available at covid19@uci.edu or via phone at (949) 824-9918
Contact Tracing and Vaccine Navigation Services - assistance with vaccines and vaccine uploads; available at contacttracing@uci.edu or via phone at (949) 824-2300
Program in Public Health chatline - answers to questions about COVID-19
For questions specific to your personal health situation, please contact your doctor or healthcare provider.