The document discusses UC Davis's COVID-19 response, highlighting an initial sense of pride in actions taken, such as patient care and testing, but later a feeling of losing effectiveness as pandemic conditions evolved. It outlines several key concerns among colleagues, including reliance on vaccination, reduced testing and masking, and the impact on high-risk populations. Recommendations for improvement include enhanced communication, better protective measures, and a clear action plan to address ongoing challenges related to the pandemic.

1. Some Comments on COVID and UC Davis

2. About Me
• UC Davis 2006
• Genome Center, EVE, MMI
• Research on genomics, evolution, ecology of host microbe
interactions
• Many COVID research and communication and teaching projects

3. UC Davis and COVID Part 1
• General feeling from most colleagues I have talked to
• UC Davis COVID response started a bit slow
• But then developed into something people felt enormous pride in
• UCDHS taking care of patients
• Testing ramp up
• Protections: masking, ventilation, remote work, symptom surveys, vaccination
• HDT
• COVID Dashboards
• Organized research efforts
• Accommodations for high risk, others
• I and many others repeatedly promoted, shared, sung praises …

4. UC Davis and COVID Part 2
• General feeling from most colleagues I have talked to
• UC Davis COVID response shifted and most I have talked to feel like we have
“lost our Mojo”
• Too early implying that pandemic was ending / over
• Not ideal responses to Delta, Omicron surges which should have been better anticipated
• People happy that things were reopening but stressed about how reopening was being
handled
• Concerns about emphasis on vaccines and de-emphasis on testing, masking, long covid,
high risk populations, impact on community
• Growing frustration with communications and tone
• I and many others have become more publicly and privately critical
• I told Chancellor May I would try harder to communicate directly about concerns …

5. A Diversity of Concerns
● Relying on vaccination
● How to anticipate / deal with variants
● Treating infections as all mild
● Reduced testing
● Reduced masking
● Ignoring those at high risk or vulnerable
● Not changing practices when conditions change
● Communicating and seeking input
● Ventilation and filtering
● Deferring to other agencies
● Exposure alerts and contact tracing
● Accomodations for those who get COVID / exposed
● Mental health deteriorating
● Impact on local community
● Allowing spread enables variant evolution

6. Top 7 Concerns
1. Relying on vaccination
2. How to anticipate / deal with variants
3. All mild infections
4. Reduced testing
5. Reduced masking
6. Ignoring those at high risk or vulnerable
7. Not changing practices when conditions change

7. Other Concerns
1. Communicating and seeking input
2. Ventilation and filtering
3. Deferring to other agencies
4. Exposure alerts and contact tracing
5. Accommodations for those who get COVID / exposed
6. Mental health deteriorating
7. Impact on local community
8. Allowing spread enables variant evolution

8. Possible Things to Do / Emphasize / Do Better
1. Action plan to reduce exposure, illness, impact
2. More explicitly linking conditions to actions
3. Improved protections including masks, ventilation, filtering
4. Better two way communications with campus community
5. More testing of people and environments
6. More information about current conditions on small and large scale
7. Better enable everyone to reduce exposures when needed
8. Long covid action plan