{"id":71425,"date":"2021-07-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-30T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/07\/30\/unmc-will-rely-on-science-data-for-covid-19-safety-decisions\/"},"modified":"2022-08-29T17:12:42","modified_gmt":"2022-08-29T22:12:42","slug":"unmc-will-rely-on-science-data-for-covid-19-safety-decisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/07\/30\/unmc-will-rely-on-science-data-for-covid-19-safety-decisions\/","title":{"rendered":"UNMC will rely on science, data for COVID-19 safety decisions"},"content":{"rendered":"

As COVID-19 case counts – fueled by the Delta variant and low vaccination rates – rise across the state, UNMC’s campus safety guidelines will be driven by science.<\/span><\/p>\n

"Our North Star is the safety of our students, faculty and staff on campus," Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, emphasized Tuesday during an all-campus forum. "We are going to base our decision-making on the science."<\/span><\/p>\n

And, the science continues to change, he said, noting<\/span> updated mask guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a>, new understandings of the novel coronavirus and genetic changes to the virus including the Delta variant, which is now the predominate strain in Nebraska and across the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n

"We need to be facile, responsive, thoughtful and again use the best science," he said to maintain safe hospital capacity and keep faculty, staff, students and patients safe.<\/span><\/p>\n

Watch the forum here.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr. Gold was joined by Jane Meza, PhD, interim executive director for health security for UNMC and the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and Kelly Cawcutt, MD, an infectious diseases and critical care physician.<\/span><\/p>\n

Med center leaders continue to review data nationally and internationally to better understand the impact of the more communicable B.1.671.2 (Delta) variant. "We’re not moving in the right direction," Dr. Gold said. "This has increasingly become a Delta variant battle with the nonvaccinated members of our community."<\/span><\/p>\n

As cases tick upward, national organizations such as the Association of American Medical Colleges, American Medical Association, American Nurses Association, American Academy of Pediatrics and others have issued a call for health care employers to require their employees be vaccinated against COVID-19. The Department of Veterans Affairs also has announced that COVID-19 vaccines are mandatory for Title 38 VA health care personnel.<\/span><\/p>\n

No campus policy change decisions have been made for UNMC or Nebraska Medicine, but local health care organizations will convene in the near future and discuss a possible communitywide approach to vaccine policy, Dr. Gold said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, in light of the local campus and statewide COVID transmission and hospitalization changes, Drs. Meza and Cawcutt said med center leaders will review mask policies for nonclinical areas to see if any changes are warranted.<\/span><\/p>\n

In other matters, Dr. Gold:<\/span><\/p>\n