4-H youth joined the Healthy Living Team to become "Disease Detectives.” Participating in the virtual UC 4-H Statewide Epidemiology Project, youth were challenged to blow a rolled-up tissue without a mask and again while wearing a mask to demonstrate how masks limit COVID-19 transmission.

UC ANR is participating in a national Cooperative Extension partnership with Extension Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on vaccine education and uptake called Extension Collaborative on Immunization Teaching and Engagement (EXCITE). The CDC recognizes that Extension's position as a trusted partner in communities can help address hesitancy around COVID-19 vaccines and other adult immunizations. As part of this effort, UC ANR's Program Planning and Evaluation unit worked with UCCE county offices and statewide programs/institutes to collect baseline activity around COVID-19 vaccine outreach and education across UC ANR's programs to share with our national partners.

Here are some of the things the team learned:

• UC ANR's vaccine education and promotion efforts occurred in at least 15 counties;  
• Vaccine education was included in a unique 4-H statewide project, the 4-H Disease Detectives Project; see their UC Delivers blog; 
• UC ANR reached approximately 18,545 individuals through in-person, virtual, email, direct mailing, or social media posts that extended vaccine education and referral to sites;
• County offices partnered with at least eight different vaccine sites on promotion and referral activities. Two counties hosted vaccine sites through their offices (kudos to San Luis Obispo and Santa Cruz!). 

UC ANR leadership applauds these efforts that demonstrate the organization's ingenuity and commitment to public health.

If you or your office are conducting new or ongoing activities on vaccination outreach and education, please email leyla.marandi@ucop.edu.We would love to share your work with our EXCITE Collaborative partners!

The News and Information Outreach in Spanish (NOS) team also received funding from the EXCITE program to promote vaccination in Spanish-speaking and indigenous communities and is working with Marcel Horowitz, UCCE healthy youth, families and communities advisor for the Capitol Corridor, and UC San Diego microbiologist Fabian Rivera to develop the campaign messaging and materials.  

The University of California Office of the President invites comments on a proposed Presidential Policy, SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Vaccination Program. The policy includes the following key issues:

• Encourages universal vaccination

• Requires students, faculty, academic appointees, and staff living, learning, or working on University premises or participating in person in University programs to receive a COVID-19 vaccine

• Provides for narrow exceptions and medical/disability exemptions

The proposed policy is posted at https://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/Administration/Business_Operations/Controller/Administrative_Policies_-_Business_Contracts/Policy_and_administrative_handbooks/ANR_Administrative_Handbook/Recent_Updates.

If you have any questions or if you wish to comment, please contact Robin Sanchez at rgsanchez@ucanr.edu, no later than May 25, 2021. Please indicate “COVID-19 Vaccination Program” in the subject line.

In March 2020, when California issued a shelter-in-place order to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus, we didn't know how long the pandemic would cause upheaval or how it would affect us. We all adapted in different ways. How has this past year changed you? 

For the one-year anniversary, Ricardo Vela and the News and Information Outreach in Spanish team asked ANR colleagues to reflect on their feelings about the past year. 

NOS produced the video “One year later.” In the video, 18 ANR colleagues and 4-H members describe how the pandemic has changed their lives. In a year of trials and tribulations, we all have a story to tell. Some lost loved ones, while one found love. Some are sad, some grateful, and others share messages of hope.

View “One year later” on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScwiHj_a9-Q.

UC colleagues from across the system also shared their stories of hardship, courage, gratitude and resilience at https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/covid-19-year-reflections.

At UC ANR, we make recommendations based on science. Our intent is not to convince people to get vaccinated, but to present information to help them make informed decisions.

We have collected resources to help you promote health and wellness during the pandemic such as reference links, PowerPoint slides and suggested messaging for email signatures. Some examples are at https://ucanr.edu/sites/safety/files/345583.pdf.

Below are some facts and resources about COVID-19.

Myths and Facts (UC Davis)

CDC Vaccine Guidance

Fact Check: Are there microchips in vaccines? No.

Fact Check: Is there a sterility risk? No.

Fact Check: Are there fetal cells in vaccines? No.

Fact Check: Were vaccines developed too fast to be safe? No.

Join these famous people in being vaccinated:

• President Joe Biden
• Vice President Kamala Harris
• Former President George Bush
• Former Vice President Mike Pence
• Journalist Stephanie Elam
• Dr. Anthony Fauci
• UN Secretary-General António Guterres
• Former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
• Celebrity Martha Stewart

More on why vaccination is safe and important:

• Sadly, Jan. 21, 2021 was the day when the COVID death toll in the U.S. reached, and then exceeded, the 405,399 Americans who died in World War II. On Feb. 22, deaths in the U.S. due to COVID-19 passed 500,000.
  
• While many are concerned about the vaccines, even back in December, communities were growing in confidence that the vaccine is safe. By December 2020, numbers intending to get the vaccine had already grown to above 60%. (Pew Research December 2020)
  
• Centers for Disease Control: How to Protect Yourself and Others
  
• California Department of Public Health Covid guidance (CDPH) 

• Make vaccination appointments, check your eligibility, or sign up for alerts at https://myturn.ca.gov/

• For more links and resources, see COVID-19 Vaccines