The Davis campus has reimposed its requirement for face coverings to be worn indoors, by everyone, vaccinated or not against the coronavirus, in alignment with Yolo County’s decision to do the same. The campus order took effect immediately July 27, whereas the county order takes effect Friday (July 30).

Yolo County and UC Davis had earlier recommended that vaccinated people resume wearing face coverings indoors, and several Bay Area counties are recommending the same, amid a spike in COVID-19 cases, most of them attributed to the relatively new delta variant of the coronavirus.

Los Angeles County reinstated its mask mandate for all as of July 18, and Yolo was the second county in the state to do so. Updated July 29: Sacramento County became the third county to reimpose its mask mandate for all people indoors, effective 12:01 a.m. Friday (July 30).

UC Davis’ updated directive allows this exception for people who are fully vaccinated: You may remove your face covering when you are alone in an office or in a cubicle. If you are unvaccinated, you must wear a face covering indoors at all times and outdoors in crowded spaces.

The University of California and campus and health system leaders continue to emphasize vaccinations as a key to defeating the coronavirus.  

Under a UC mandate, staff, faculty and students, if not fully vaccinated, will not be allowed on campus as of Sept. 8. A process will be announced soon for medical and religious exceptions. More information on UC’s vaccination mandate.

Why they got vaccinated

“I decided to get vaccinated for my daughter, who was born 4 months early. She fought so hard to be alive. I choose to get vaccinated for my baby and all who are not able to fight off illness because of their compromised immune system.” — Felicia Murdoch, policy analyst, Office of the Academic Senate

Read more of what your fellow employees are saying about why they got vaccinated — and submit your own story. [Click on this box.]

Time is of the essence

Three vaccines are available, and two of them, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, are given in two-dose regimens, three weeks apart for Pfizer/BioNTech and four weeks apart for Moderna. Then, after your last shot, you must wait two weeks before you are considered fully vaccinated. So, if you are getting either of these vaccines, you need to get started soon (no later than July 28 for Moderna and no later than Aug. 4 for Pfizer/BioNTech) in order to be fully vaccinated by Sept. 8.

People who receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccination (single dose) also must wait two weeks to be considered fully vaccinated. So, Aug. 25 is the last day you can receive this vaccine if you want to be fully vaccinated by Sept. 8.

Vaccination appointments can be made on the state’s MyTurn website (or call 833-422-4255). The website also includes a button to “find a walk-in clinic.”

“Fully vaccinated” means you have received the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, or the two-dose Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, and two weeks have elapsed since your final shot. Otherwise, you are considered “unvaccinated.”

Hear from your fellow employees on why they chose to get vaccinated; all employees are invited to submit their own stories. We also have student testimonials.

Testing

• If you are unvaccinated, you must get tested every four days. Learn more about the campus’s asymptomatic testing program.
• If you are fully vaccinated and have self-reported your vaccination information in Health-e-Messaging, you are exempt from testing. See below for information on how to self-report.

Note: With the recent surge in cases, UC Davis strongly encourages regular testing even for people who are fully vaccinated.

VACCINATION RATES

Data as of July 24, as reported on the UC Davis COVID-19 Dashboard:

• Davis campus employees — 62 percent
• Students — 37 percent
• Davis campus combined — 42 percent

 See the dashboard for full explanation of how these rates are calculated.

Self-reporting

Employees are asked to report their vaccination status in the Health-e-Messaging portal. If you were vaccinated in California, the simplest way to report your information is by authorizing the university to gather your data from the state’s vaccine registry.

• Log in to Health-e-Messaging.
• Click on “Medical Clearances” in the menu on the left-hand side of the page.
• Click on “COVID-19 Vaccine Verification Authorization.”
• “Sign” the form electronically.

Otherwise, you can self-report by providing your vaccination date or dates and uploading images of the front and back of your vaccine card. (Look for the blue bar labeled “Enter My COVID-19 Vaccination Information” on the Health-e-Messaging landing page.)

Face coverings

Updated 4 p.m. July 27 to align with Yolo County public health order.

• For people who are fully vaccinated — Face coverings required indoors.
• For people who are unvaccinated — Required indoors. Required outdoors in crowded settings.

The Campus Ready website declares, in addition to wearing face coverings indoors, everyone must also wear face coverings in these locations and situations:

• Unitrans requires all passengers to wear face coverings, regardless of vaccination status.
• California National Primate Center requires everyone to wear face coverings when in proximity (5 feet) to outdoor field enclosures.

Check for the latest face coverings directive on the Campus Ready website.

Workplace Reimagined

Guidelines and resources are available for Davis campus supervisors and staff as they consider flexible work planning, off-site work planning and on-site work planning.

(A vaccine mandate exception may be considered for any employee who has an approved Flexible Work Agreement that specfiies the employee will never be on campus.)

Other policies

• Daily Symptom Survey — The survey is required of everyone (fully vaccinated or unvaccinated) wishing to access university worksites.
• Physical distancing — Unvaccinated employees need to maintain physical distance while eating or drinking in workplace settings.

See “Public Health Policies and Requirements” on the Campus Ready website.