Monday, December 7, 2020

UI experts appointed to state’s Infectious Disease Advisory Council

Clockwise from upper left, Brooks Jackson, Edith Parker, Jorge Salinas, Lauris Kaldjian

As planning continues for distribution of FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine, the Iowa Department of Public Health has selected four University of Iowa experts to serve on its Infectious Disease Advisory Council (IDAC). The council, which brings together more than 20 subject matter experts from across Iowa, will assist the state in developing COVID-19 vaccine distribution guidance and prioritization of populations for early in the response when vaccine supply will be limited.

The UI experts who have been named to the council include:

  • Brooks Jackson, MD, MBA, vice president for medical affairs and dean of the Carver College of Medicine
  • Edith Parker, DrPH, MPH, dean of the UI College of Public Health
  • Lauris Kaldjian, MD, PhD, bioethicist in UI Hospitals & Clinics
  • Jorge Salinas, MD, infectious disease specialist in UI Hospitals & Clinics

The IDAC will develop recommendations for consideration by the director of IDPH. Additionally, the council will develop a process to solicit information from employers and other interested parties throughout the state to better understand the unique considerations of their workforce.

As vaccines receive emergency use authorization and Iowa receives information on distribution quantity from federal partners, the IDAC will reconvene to review ACIP, NIH, and NASEM priority recommendations and, if needed, tailor the prior recommendations accordingly.

To learn more, see the Iowa Department of Public Health website: https://idph.iowa.gov/Portals/1/userfiles/61/covid19/vaccine/IDAC_Framework_Dec2020.pdf

Campus operations

The university continues to monitor self-reported COVID-19 testing data on campus, while also tracking state, region, and national COVID-19 infection rates. The university will continue to follow the latest guidance from the CDC in coordination with Johnson County Public Health, the Iowa Department of Public Health, and the Board of Regents, State of Iowa.

Seven-day rolling average chart for self-reported UI data

University of Iowa self-reported COVID-19 testing

These data reflect new cases since Dec. 4, 2020.

The University of Iowa has published an updated snapshot of self-reported positive COVID-19 tests from faculty, staff, and students.

Number of self-reported cases of COVID-19

Students

  • New cases: 16
  • Semester-to-date: 2,750

Employees

  • New cases: 6
  • Semester-to-date: 306

These numbers reflect only self-reported positive or presumed positive COVID-19 tests from UI faculty, staff, and students on the academic campus since Aug. 18, 2020. These data will not match data reported by UI Hospitals & Clinics or by the Iowa Department of Public Health for several reasons, including different testing time intervals and geographic scope. Students who also are employees of the university are only reported in the student number to avoid double counting. The UI has more than 30,000 students and nearly 30,000 employees. Many employees continue to work remotely but have self-reported to authorize sick leave.

Number of residence hall students in quarantine: 0*

Number of residence hall students in self-isolation: 2**

*Quarantine: Quarantine is used to keep someone who might have been exposed to COVID-19 away from others.

**Self-isolation: Isolation is used to separate people infected with the virus (those who are symptomatic and those with no symptoms) from people who are not infected.