Feb. 1, 2023

New UCI hire is veteran investigator of societal impacts on the health of Black Americans

Over the past 15 years, Karen Lincoln analyzed the social, psychosocial and public health factors related to health disparities among Black Americans in Los Angeles. Most recently attached to the USC School of Social Work, Lincoln has just joined UCI’s School of Public Health as a professor of environmental & occupational health and director of the Center for Environmental Health Disparities Research. As a researcher and social worker, Lincoln investigates the impact of societal and social determinants and studies how to inform and design interventions to restore and promote the health and well-being of Black Americans across their lifespan. She recently spoke with UCI Public Health about what she has planned for UCI.

Donation aids Orange County high school outreach program

Celebrating Black History Month

Throughout the month of February, UC celebrates Black History Month — an official recognition of the incredible and lasting impact and achievements of the Black community. To help you engage with colleagues during this month, we’ve compiled virtual events at all UC campuses relating to contemporary and historic Black culture, as well as social justice. All are free and accessible to all students, faculty, staff and alumni. Also, you can follow UC's social accounts (Facebook: University of California, Twitter: @uofcalifornia, Instagram: @uofcalifornia and TikTok: @universityofcalifornia) throughout February for more stories of Black history and culture at UC.

US mpox emergency officially ends today

The U.S. public health emergency declaration for mpox, also known as monkeypox, officially ends today, Feb. 1. Although the virus isn’t completely gone, for more than a month, the average number of daily new cases reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has hovered in the single digits, plummeting from an August peak of about 450 cases a day. However, scientists are still struggling to understand how the virus began to spread from the Central and West African countries where it’s usually found to more than 100 other nations.

Betweenness
Friday, 8 p.m. (sponsored by Center for Asian Studies and Medici Scholarship)

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.

#UCIrvine tweets: UCI celebrates #BlackHistoryMonth. Nana Entsuah, professor of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences, received an award from UC End Disparities to improve blood pressure control within the Black community in So Cal through a culturally tailored approach.

#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.

Upload your vaccine and booster records

Daily COVID-19 Symptom check

By coming to campus each day, students and employees are attesting they are free of COVID-19 symptoms and are not COVID-19 positive. If you currently have symptoms of COVID-19 or recently tested positive, do not come to campus, or if you currently live on campus stay in your residence, and follow instructions for reporting your case or assessing symptoms on the UCI Forward page. Close contacts to a COVID-19 case are not required to stay home or quarantine, but should follow guidance for close contact instructions for masking and testing on the UCI Forward page.

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.

UCI Forward – information on campus status and operational updates

Monkeypox information - Information and resources on monkeypox

UCI Health COVID-19 Updates – important information related to UCI Health

UCI Coronavirus Response Center – available at covid19@uci.edu or 949-824-9918

Contact Tracing and Vaccine Navigation Services – assistance with vaccines and vaccine uploads or to report a case, available at contacttracing@uci.edu or 949-824-2300

For questions specific to your personal health situation, please contact your doctor or healthcare provider.