May 27 - Latest on long COVID; autonomous vehicle hazards

UCI COVID Minute: What’s the latest on long COVID?

In today’s UCI COVID Minute video, Bernadette Boden-Albala, director of UCI’s Program in Public Health, answers this question: What’s the latest on long COVID?

No UCI Digest on Monday

Because of the Memorial Day holiday, UCI Digest will not be posted on Monday. Listings in today’s Events section below would have normally appeared Monday. Have a nice, long weekend, and see you back here on Tuesday.

UCI researchers: Autonomous vehicles can be tricked into dangerous driving behavior

When a driverless car is in motion, one faulty decision by its collision-avoidance system can lead to disaster, but UCI researchers have identified another possible risk: Autonomous vehicles can be tricked into an abrupt halt or other undesired driving behavior by the placement of an ordinary object on the side of the road.

UC NEWS AND GENERAL NEWS

Friday fun fact

Summer school: Almost 90% of UC undergraduates report that taking summer courses is important to graduating on time.

The real COVID surge is much bigger than it looks – but don’t panic

Cases of COVID-19 are – yet again – on the rise. The U.S. is seeing an average of more than 100,000 reported new cases across the country every day. That's nearly double the rate a month ago and four times higher than this time last year. And the real number of cases is likely much higher than that, according to health officials, because many people now rely on at-home tests.

Dominant coronavirus mutant contains ghost of pandemic past

The coronavirus mutant that is now dominant in the U.S. is a member of the omicron family but scientists say it spreads faster than its omicron predecessors, is adept at escaping immunity and might possibly cause more serious disease. Why? Because it combines properties of both omicron and delta, the nation's dominant variant in the middle of last year.

Viruses that were on hiatus during COVID are back

For nearly two years, as the pandemic disrupted life around the globe, other infectious diseases were in retreat. Now the viral and bacterial nuisances are returning – and behaving in unexpected ways.

EVENTS

Cup of SOAR
Wednesday, 10 a.m. (sponsored by Student Outreach and Retention)

Wednesday Wellness Walk: UCI Ecological Reserve
Wednesday, 11:30 a.m. (sponsored by Student Wellness & Health Promotion)

ICS Project Expo
Wednesday, 3:30 p.m. (sponsored by Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences)

GDIM/CGS Town Hall & End of Year Celebration
Wednesday, 5 p.m. (sponsored by Game Design & Interactive Media)

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

Note: Some news sites require subscriptions to read articles. The UCI Libraries offer free subscriptions to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Orange County Register and The Washington Post for students, faculty and staff.

From the Ancient Ashes of Vesuvius, Human DNA

The New York Times, May 26
Cited: Fabio Macciardi, professor of molecular psychiatry

The Health 202 – Mass violence takes toll on Americans’ psyches

The Washington Post, May 27
Cited: Roxane Cohen Silver, Distinguished Professor of psychological science, medicine and public health

COVID-19 cases hit levels of past summer surges in California

The Orange County Register, May 25
Cited: Andrew Noymer, associate professor of public health

COMMENCEMENT CORNER

#IamUCI: Q&A with Class of 2022 graduate Christian Peralta, B.A. ’11, EMBA ’22

Christian Peralta is a first-generation Filipino American graduating this spring from the Paul Merage School of Business’ two-year executive MBA program. He’s a U.S. Army Ranger-qualified infantry officer who has served 15 years in the U.S. military – including time with the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps while an undergraduate at UCI. With his family settled in Eastvale, Peralta decided to return to his alma mater – where he earned a B.A. in criminology, law and society in 2011 – to study business in 2020.

Graduating this year? Share your UCI story and photos! Tag us with #IamUCI on Instagram and Twitter.

COVID-19 NOTIFICATION AND RESOURCES

58 new campus cases

On Thursday, UCI recorded 58 new cases of COVID-19: 54 students and four employees. For more information, visit the UCI COVID-19 dashboard.

Upload your vaccine and booster records

Student Record Upload

Employee Record Upload

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 Health COVID-19 FAQs

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.