UVA researchers predict another surge in COVID-19 cases will strike Charlottesville and the surrounding health district at the end of April and continue through May. The main driver is the arrival of the new U.K. variant of the virus that is far more contagious than the original strain.
If you’re not ready to roll up your sleeve for a dose just yet, Dr. Ebony Jade Hilton, a UVA associate professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine, has this advice: “Talk to persons who can give you the scientific data. We know there is a lot of information that circulates around social media that simply is ungrounded. If you see a post that says something that claims these reactions to vaccines or reactions that they’ve seen with people with COVID-19 and saying it’s a hoax, ask them for the data.”
(Commentary by Jason Oliver Evans, Ph.D. student in religious studies) Early on April 4 morning, the following message appeared on the Twitter account of the Rev. Raphael Warnock, the newly elected U.S. senator from Georgia: “The meaning of Easter is more transcendent than the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Whether you are Christian or not, through a commitment to helping others we are able to save ourselves.” He later deleted the tweet, but not before strong reaction from both conservative and progressive Christians.
A team from the University of Virginia was awarded the top prize in the 2021 ASTC-USITT Venue Renovation Challenge competition on 9th April, 2021. The ASTC Edgar L. Lustig Award of $2,000 was presented to the University of Virginia team during a live YouTube video broadcast for their proposed renovation of the McIntire Amphitheater on the UVA campus. The theoretical project transformed a limited use outdoor amphitheatre into a venue that can support a large variety of performing arts events along with additional functional support spaces.
Dr. Bruce Greyson, professor emeritus in psychiatry at the University of Virginia, also believes that the life of human beings is not confined to the physical body. “I am convinced now, after doing this for 40, 50 years, that there is more to life than just our physical bodies. I recognize that there is a non-physical part of us. Is that spiritual? I'm not sure. Spirituality usually involves a search for something greater than yourself, for meaning and purpose in the universe. Well, I certainly have that,” said Greyson.
Renzo Figari, a neurologist with a Parkinson’s specialty at UVA Health, wrote on his Twitter account that no family should be subject to what Dorys’ family has gone through. “I know we should find a cure for Parkinson’s, but this should never happen. Health is a right for everyone,” Figari said. “How did we end up as a society in a situation that a family has to sell their house to get the standard of care? It makes me so sad.”
Meredith Clark, assistant professor in UVA’s Department of Media Studies, defends cancel culture as "an expression of agency, a choice to withdraw one's attention from someone or something whose values, (in)action, or speech are so offensive, one no longer wishes to grace them with their presence, time, and money," she wrote in the journal Communication and the Public in October 2020.
In Virginia, 83% of vaccines supplied to the state have been used – but the number of people getting shots differs sharply from city to city. That difference is especially stark in Charlottesville and Lynchburg, separated by a mere hour’s drive on U.S. 29 past vineyards and open farmland. “Virginia is sort of a microcosm of the country,” said Costi Sifri, director of epidemiology at UVA Health. “We’re going to have this same type of challenge played out in every state in the country. How do we close the vaccine gaps that are going to occur geographically?”
Critical care physician Dr. Ebony Hilton says the quick pause should give people faith that any vaccine will only be given if it continues to prove its safety. “Now we know in the United States that if there’s an issue with any of the vaccines that there is an agency in charge of saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to pause, reflect, look at the data’” she said. Hilton says this level of transparency is proof that safety is top of mind among government, scientists, and vaccine companies. UVA’s Dr. Dan Engel, a professor of microbiology, echoes Hilton’s praise. “Any kind of news like this is understandab...
(Commentary by Mark Edmundson, professor of English; subscription required) When Walt Whitman began conceiving his great volume of poetry, “Leaves of Grass,” in the 1850s, American democracy was in serious danger over the issue of slavery. As we celebrate National Poetry Month this month, the problems facing our democracy are different, but Whitman still has a great deal to teach us about democratic life, because he saw that we are perpetually in danger of succumbing to two antidemocratic forces.
Two workshops are coming up to help people understand the importance of advance directives. The Central Virginia Advance Directives Collaborative, the University of Virginia Health System and Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital want to make sure people are planning ahead.
The University of Virginia's weekly COVID-19 modeling report noted that 1 in 4 Virginians 70 and older have not yet received the first vaccine dose, with vaccine uptake in this age group slowing in recent weeks. Researchers cited two possible factors contributing to the slowdown of uptake in this age group. "Access barriers likely play a role. Among other strategies, Virginia is expanding the number community vaccination and mobile clinics to make getting a vaccine easier," the report stated. "However, vaccine hesitancy is also an important factor. While surveys indicate that the greater major...
(Commentary) Researchers have found no evidence to support these conservative grievances. “I know of no academic research that concludes there is a systemic bias – liberal or conservative – in either the content moderation policies or the prioritization of content by algorithms by major social media platforms,” said Steven Johnson, an information technology professor at the University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce.
The National Endowment for the Humanities announced $24 million in grants for 225 humanities projects on Wednesday. The UVA project is called “Digital Sepoltuario, the Tombs of Renaissance Florence.” It is getting more than $349,000 to develop and implement a public interface for research into medieval and early modern burial and commemoration through a database and platform documenting the tombs of Renaissance Florence.
On Tuesday, UVA’s Board of Visitors approved an administration proposal to hold base undergraduate tuition at its current rate for the 2021-22 academic year.
The UVA Board of Visitors has approved a plan to freeze undergraduate tuition for the 2021-22 academic year.
National High Five Day is celebrated in U.S. on every third Thursday of the month of April. As the name goes, this special day is dedicated to giving high fives and spreading good vibes. It was started in the year 2002 by the students from University of Virginia's campus. They gave out high fives all day and then later the day was sponsored by a video calling firm named Highfive. The company even raised some money for charity to provide for free sports and arts to kids who were going through severe health conditions.
National High Five Day is an unofficial national holiday that was created by college students at the University of Virginia in 2002. It is celebrated on the third Thursday of April every year.
The University of Virginia doesn't expect the federal pause in the Johnson and Johnson vaccine to limit vaccine availability for students.
People soon may hear all about Homer’s statue on the Lawn at the University of Virginia with a simple scan of a QR code on their smartphone. In fact, they may hear conflicting interpretations of the statue, the Lawn and UVa as the University seeks to provide context to its memorials, statues, plaques and buildings. At its virtual meeting Tuesday, UVA’s Board of Visitors created a working group to develop digital ways of putting historical context to the plethora of markers, monuments and historic features on Grounds.