1 00:00:03,340 --> 00:00:06,009 Hi everyone, I hope you’re all having a good week. 2 00:00:06,009 --> 00:00:10,740 Welcome to another episode of UVA Weekly, the new smash-hit show of the season. 3 00:00:10,740 --> 00:00:14,460 Today, we’ll be giving you an update on how things are going with the virus, sharing 4 00:00:14,460 --> 00:00:19,740 ideas for what you can do in groups of 5 or fewer, taking you on a tour of the Memorial 5 00:00:19,740 --> 00:00:25,520 to Enslaved Laborers, sharing the latest information on the search for a COVID-19 vaccine, and 6 00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:28,990 ending with a sneak preview of the new season of Arts on the Hill. 7 00:00:28,990 --> 00:00:33,620 But first, a quick review of the numbers: At the time we’re recording this on Thursday 8 00:00:33,620 --> 00:00:39,370 morning, we have 219 “active” cases, meaning new cases with a positive test result in the 9 00:00:39,370 --> 00:00:43,440 past 10 days that require isolation on or off Grounds. 10 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:49,500 Right now, about 9% of our isolation space we’ve set aside for students who test positive is 11 00:00:49,500 --> 00:00:55,430 occupied, as is 22% of the quarantine space we’ve reserved for close contacts. 12 00:00:55,430 --> 00:01:00,530 Our new saliva testing program is making it possible to perform more widespread testing 13 00:01:00,530 --> 00:01:05,399 of asymptomatic students, and we are working every day to expand capacity. 14 00:01:05,399 --> 00:01:10,270 The details about our plans are in this week's Return to Grounds newsletter. 15 00:01:10,270 --> 00:01:14,979 A couple weeks ago, in an effort to stay one step ahead of the virus, we put new guidelines 16 00:01:14,979 --> 00:01:17,719 in place around gatherings, masking, and travel. 17 00:01:17,719 --> 00:01:21,829 At the time, we said the guidelines would stay in place for at least two weeks, at which 18 00:01:21,829 --> 00:01:23,649 point we would reevaluate. 19 00:01:23,649 --> 00:01:27,789 As you heard from Dean Groves on Tuesday, we’ve decided to keep the new guidelines 20 00:01:27,789 --> 00:01:29,539 in place for a couple more weeks. 21 00:01:29,539 --> 00:01:33,849 I know this comes as a disappointment to many of you, and I want to be clear that 22 00:01:33,849 --> 00:01:35,209 we’re not doing this as a punishment. 23 00:01:35,209 --> 00:01:40,719 The vast majority of you have done a remarkable job adapting to the new rules, and it has 24 00:01:40,719 --> 00:01:42,759 helped slow the spread of the virus. 25 00:01:42,759 --> 00:01:46,939 While the numbers are looking better this week, they are not yet where we would like them to be, 26 00:01:46,939 --> 00:01:49,659 which is why we’re going to stay the course for now. 27 00:01:49,659 --> 00:01:54,100 Thank you for your understanding, your patience, and for doing your part. 28 00:01:54,100 --> 00:01:58,240 Speaking of students doing their part, it’s been incredibly encouraging to see so many 29 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:03,609 of you on Grounds wearing your masks, gathering in groups of 5 or fewer, and observing social 30 00:02:03,609 --> 00:02:04,609 distancing. 31 00:02:04,609 --> 00:02:08,250 We’ve also received reports from members of the community who have seen students setting 32 00:02:08,250 --> 00:02:10,729 a good example off-Grounds as well. 33 00:02:10,729 --> 00:02:14,430 Thank you for everything you’re doing to keep yourselves and our community safe. 34 00:02:14,430 --> 00:02:19,170 I would like to end with a special word of thanks to the team at Facilities Management. 35 00:02:19,170 --> 00:02:22,879 Earlier this week, I stopped by their shop and got to meet some of the people who are 36 00:02:22,879 --> 00:02:24,659 keeping us safe across Grounds. 37 00:02:24,659 --> 00:02:29,870 It’s a remarkably talented and dedicated group of people doing an enormous amount of 38 00:02:29,870 --> 00:02:31,650 work that often goes unnoticed. 39 00:02:31,650 --> 00:02:35,769 So, if you see them around, please say thanks. 40 00:02:35,769 --> 00:02:42,200 And thanks to all of you for watching, and now, as usual, I’ll turn things over to Davion Zeno. Thank you. 41 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:44,520 Wassup Guys, Zeno here and I’m back like I left something. 42 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:48,840 Coming to you with the Youva team to talk all things Covid and news on grounds. 43 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:52,609 For this week’s segment It seems like we have to have the talk. 44 00:02:52,609 --> 00:02:54,030 You know, the talk. 45 00:02:54,030 --> 00:02:56,680 When you meet someone and you're seeing them daily. 46 00:02:56,680 --> 00:02:58,189 Yeah, that talk. 47 00:02:58,189 --> 00:03:02,599 I am talking about the Covid expectations talk with your roommates. 48 00:03:02,599 --> 00:03:04,040 What else could I be talking about? 49 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:07,739 Listen, I know we are a month in but we are still receiving questions on how to deal with 50 00:03:07,739 --> 00:03:09,019 this awkward conversation. 51 00:03:09,019 --> 00:03:14,409 I don't know about you guys, but I love awkward moments, they just bring people together. 52 00:03:14,409 --> 00:03:17,470 In any relationship, communication is key. 53 00:03:17,470 --> 00:03:20,430 Let each other know when it is the worst time to talk and when it is the best time to talk. 54 00:03:20,430 --> 00:03:25,019 Some people don’t have the mental capacity to have important conversations past 10 pm, 55 00:03:25,019 --> 00:03:27,299 I am some people. 56 00:03:27,299 --> 00:03:30,219 Express your limitations like what you can and cannot share. 57 00:03:30,219 --> 00:03:35,409 Computers, keyboards and bedding may be off limits and that is totally fine. 58 00:03:35,409 --> 00:03:40,150 Also maybe promise each other that as soon as you get home we will always wash your hands. 59 00:03:40,150 --> 00:03:43,860 With online classes, and studying happening in your rooms, it would be important to discuss 60 00:03:43,860 --> 00:03:44,860 norms. 61 00:03:44,860 --> 00:03:49,049 If you need absolute silence during certain classes, using headphones, setting quiet hours 62 00:03:49,049 --> 00:03:53,530 are all important for your academic success during these times. 63 00:03:53,530 --> 00:03:56,829 Communication needs to be clear with cleanliness, like committing to wiping down surfaces like 64 00:03:56,829 --> 00:04:00,739 door knobs, counters, and fridge handles at least daily. 65 00:04:00,739 --> 00:04:05,700 In the case that your roommate becomes sick with the flu or covid, wear a mask, open windows, 66 00:04:05,700 --> 00:04:09,480 disinfect all surfaces and don’t cook or eat together. 67 00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:11,950 Check with student health to see if you need to get tested. 68 00:04:11,950 --> 00:04:15,050 We know that these conversations are tough but they are important. 69 00:04:15,050 --> 00:04:18,829 We encourage you to always start off with the why setting these routines and commitments 70 00:04:18,829 --> 00:04:20,100 are important. 71 00:04:20,100 --> 00:04:25,720 With over 200,000 people passing due to complications with the virus in the US, chances are multiple 72 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:28,440 students have had a brush with it in some way. 73 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:32,470 And, while all of us are having these conversations, it’s worth remembering that a lot of researchers 74 00:04:32,470 --> 00:04:36,770 at UVA are hard at work on treatments and vaccines that could help us put an end to 75 00:04:36,770 --> 00:04:38,419 this pandemic. 76 00:04:38,419 --> 00:04:42,500 This week, Dr. Bill Petri takes us behind the scenes in his lab, where they have made some 77 00:04:42,500 --> 00:04:47,590 important discoveries about how to treat COVID and how a vaccine might work. 78 00:04:47,590 --> 00:04:54,070 Our lab studies the immunology of infectious diseases and so when COVID-19 occurred, we 79 00:04:54,070 --> 00:04:59,729 were in a unique position to be able to respond because this is sort of what we do, is look 80 00:04:59,729 --> 00:05:02,780 at how the immune system protects against infection. 81 00:05:02,780 --> 00:05:08,280 Specifically, as far as a COVID vaccine, what we’ve been doing is developing a vaccine 82 00:05:08,280 --> 00:05:13,050 against a parasitic infection, but it’s a platform with which one can use to develop 83 00:05:13,050 --> 00:05:19,330 vaccines against COVID-19, so what our research efforts are in the lab is to develop what 84 00:05:19,330 --> 00:05:22,780 might be a second or third generation vaccine. 85 00:05:22,780 --> 00:05:29,800 So there’s two unique contributions that we’re making to COVID-19 research through 86 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:30,800 this lab. 87 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:35,000 So the first is the work of Allie Donlan, who is a graduate student, who has shown that 88 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:41,669 an allergic immune response, we call a type-2 immune response, actually predisposes to severe 89 00:05:41,669 --> 00:05:46,740 disease and Allie has been able to show that if you neutralize that type-2 immune response 90 00:05:46,740 --> 00:05:52,229 you actually protect an animal from COVID-19 suggest that we should be able to protect 91 00:05:52,229 --> 00:05:55,390 people by neutralizing allergic cytokines. 92 00:05:55,390 --> 00:06:01,810 We’ve seen both in the patient samples and the mouse data that the immune response to 93 00:06:01,810 --> 00:06:05,889 the disease itself is very variable, and so if we can understand what causes these variations 94 00:06:05,889 --> 00:06:10,449 in the host immune response or the host response in general, we might be able to tailor specific 95 00:06:10,449 --> 00:06:15,599 personalized medicine than say a one-size-fits-all medication. 96 00:06:15,599 --> 00:06:20,710 The second advance is that Mayuresh Abhyankar, who is an assistant professor in the group, 97 00:06:20,710 --> 00:06:27,000 has shown that there is an adjuvant, something you add to a vaccine that will promote a long-lived 98 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:28,160 antibody response. 99 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:35,620 What we have shown is the immune response lasted for at least six months using our adjuvant 100 00:06:35,620 --> 00:06:40,979 system, so that’s pretty promising and that’s one of the exciting aspects we want to apply 101 00:06:40,979 --> 00:06:45,280 this platform for the COVID vaccine. 102 00:06:45,280 --> 00:06:49,819 There is now five vaccines in the US that are in phase 3 clinical trials. 103 00:06:49,819 --> 00:06:55,629 I’m really optimistic and I fully expect that healthcare providers will be vaccinated 104 00:06:55,629 --> 00:07:00,550 probably at the end of this year or January and then will go to then vaccinating people 105 00:07:00,550 --> 00:07:06,539 who have underlying illnesses that put them at greatest risk and then finally will be 106 00:07:06,539 --> 00:07:11,900 to the general public I would imagine by spring/summer of next year, so the vaccine will be widely 107 00:07:11,900 --> 00:07:12,900 available to everyone 108 00:07:18,897 --> 00:07:21,939 It’s hard to connect with new people or current friends in this socially distanced 109 00:07:21,939 --> 00:07:26,349 world but we have some suggestions that can get you out of your room and maybe even out 110 00:07:26,349 --> 00:07:30,220 your comfort zone while still complying with Covid guidelines. 111 00:07:30,220 --> 00:07:35,330 This month, IM-Rec is planning some movie nights in the AFC pool, laser tag, and a Roommate 112 00:07:35,330 --> 00:07:37,760 Zombie fun run to get you in the holiday spirit. 113 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:42,490 Athletics hosted a football watch party Saturday night and hopes to do a few similar events 114 00:07:42,490 --> 00:07:43,870 this fall. 115 00:07:43,870 --> 00:07:47,830 You can grab a few friends and take an online yoga class hosted by the Contemplative Sciences 116 00:07:47,830 --> 00:07:52,360 Center or participate in workshops hosted by Multicultural Student Services like Safe 117 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:56,600 Space training and programs exploring identity, power, and privilege. 118 00:07:56,600 --> 00:08:00,439 Check out the @youva.safe on instagram for a list of resources that can help keep you 119 00:08:00,439 --> 00:08:05,410 up-to-date with opportunities to engage and connect on-line and around grounds. 120 00:08:05,410 --> 00:08:09,770 This year, the Memorial for Enslaved Laborers officially opened across from Bodos on the 121 00:08:09,770 --> 00:08:12,200 corner, or the other side of Brooks Hall. 122 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:17,070 Completion of the Memorial is the culmination of years of work, including student activism. 123 00:08:17,070 --> 00:08:21,139 Thanks to the many groups of students, faculty, and staff who pushed to make this long-overdue 124 00:08:21,139 --> 00:08:23,168 recognition a reality. 125 00:08:23,168 --> 00:08:27,156 Let’s hear more from an amazing individual, alumna Jess Harris. 126 00:08:30,700 --> 00:08:35,320 In order for us to continue to move forward in striving for equity and striving for change, 127 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:38,220 we have to be able to talk about our past, in a way that's really meaningful. 128 00:08:38,220 --> 00:08:40,800 And the Memorial I think is a beautiful first step 129 00:08:40,800 --> 00:08:43,060 in starting that conversation. 130 00:08:47,340 --> 00:08:49,780 It's intended to be a space for reflection and healing, 131 00:08:49,780 --> 00:08:51,860 it's a space of truth-telling. 132 00:08:51,860 --> 00:08:55,960 We want folks to bring classes here, we want folks to engage in that way. 133 00:08:55,960 --> 00:09:02,050 Slavery wasn't an experience that by any means should just be something in our past that 134 00:09:02,050 --> 00:09:03,460 we say happened and we can't talk about it. 135 00:09:03,460 --> 00:09:07,147 We should help folks heal past that trauma and past the brutality of it. 136 00:09:13,545 --> 00:09:17,960 The first thing design wise that greets you when you come in the Memorial is this broken 137 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:18,960 shackle image. 138 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:21,650 It represents this freedom from physical bondage. 139 00:09:21,650 --> 00:09:25,670 There's the path towards the North Star and that was the path towards freedom. 140 00:09:25,670 --> 00:09:30,250 And then a second path that kind of aligns with the sunset on March 3, which is Liberation 141 00:09:30,250 --> 00:09:31,250 and Freedom Day. 142 00:09:31,250 --> 00:09:34,770 It is 80 feet which matches the diameter of the Rotunda 143 00:09:34,770 --> 00:09:40,270 taking up that space that is so rightly deserved in honoring this legacy. 144 00:09:40,270 --> 00:09:43,850 There is the timeline of events that happened all the way through 145 00:09:43,850 --> 00:09:45,570 Isabella Gibbons death. 146 00:09:45,570 --> 00:09:48,970 Isabella Gibbons was a member of the enslaved community and she 147 00:09:48,970 --> 00:09:54,500 really took it upon herself to encourage reflection and encourage moving the needle towards equity 148 00:09:54,500 --> 00:09:59,140 and equality and so her eyes are on the back of the Memorial. 149 00:09:59,140 --> 00:10:03,430 I would encourage everyone if they can, come witness it in person, feel the stone, see 150 00:10:03,430 --> 00:10:08,580 the timeline, be here and be present and take a second to reflect, honor, 151 00:10:08,580 --> 00:10:12,571 and encourage folks to move forward with that history. 152 00:10:17,230 --> 00:10:22,510 Hit the @YOUva team on instagram or email us at youva@virginia.edu.This has been Zeno 153 00:10:22,510 --> 00:10:24,830 and I'm out like a light. 154 00:10:24,830 --> 00:10:36,180 We come from old Virginia where all is bright and gay. 155 00:10:36,180 --> 00:10:46,790 Let’s all join hands and give a yell for dear old UVA. 156 00:10:46,790 --> 00:10:52,500 For dear old UVA.