- Author: Brian Oatman
You might have heard that the Governor is ending the COVID-19 state of emergency on Feb. 28. This signals a new phase of response to the pandemic and ends most of the statewide public health orders and restrictions that have been in place and evolved over the past three years. Going forward, UC's efforts related to prevention of COVID-19 or other disease outbreaks will focus on public health education, preparedness and outreach.
For UC ANR workplaces and programming, this will not result in noticeable change from how we have been operating for the past several months. Here is what you need to know:
- Most importantly, employees are still advised to stay home if they have symptoms of any infectious illness or are...
On Aug. 30, 2022, the Policy on Vaccination Programs – With Interim Amendments was issued, with an effective date of Sept. 1, 2022. On Sept. 16, 2022, the University of California Office of the President distributed a draft policy for Systemwide Review with a comment deadline of Dec. 15, 2022. Based on feedback received from the Systemwide Review thus far and discussions with leadership, updated interim amendments were made to the policy to include an option for members of the University community to opt out of COVID-19 boosters as well as technical edits. On Dec. 12, 2022, the Policy on Vaccination Programs – With Updated Interim Amendments was issued.
In light of these updated interim amendments, the...
To help avoid an increase of COVID-19 cases at work after the winter holiday, we are providing every UC ANR employee with a COVID-19 antigen test kit (2 tests) to take home with them to use after the break.
Test kits are being shipped to every ANR location during the week of December 12-16. Please see your safety coordinator or office manager to receive the tests and take them home with you before the winter holiday. After the Winter Holiday break, on the morning before you return to work onsite, please check yourself for symptoms and use a self-test. Follow the instructions in the test kit, or view this video for test instructions:
While the COVID-19 pandemic has moved to a new phase, the virus is still with us. The rate of cases in our community and among UC ANR employees has declined over the past few months, but transmission of the virus is still occurring in our communities. COVID-19 is spread through respiratory droplets from an infected person. Current evidence indicates that the current strain of COVID-19 is highly infectious, and that a person may be infected and capable of spreading the disease for a day or two before they experience any symptoms. This means that when we are close to other people for extended periods of time, we might be exposed without knowing it. We can also carry the virus before we feel any symptoms.
Looking back at reported...
Influenza: As you may have heard, in 2021 President Drake issued an Executive Order requiring all covered UC students, faculty, other academic appointees, and staff to get vaccinated against influenza or opt out by submitting a vaccine declination statement. The Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Program policy has been updated for AY 2022-23 and we encourage all employees to visit this webpage and/or the
