Welcome to Spring Quarter

Whether you are studying or working on campus or remotely, I bid you a warm Triton welcome to Spring Quarter 2021. As we head into the Spring Quarter, there has been a precipitous decline in SARS-CoV-2 infections on campus, in San Diego County and around the nation. As San Diego County implements its vaccination plan and more people receive vaccinations, there is light at the end of this long tunnel.

Vaccination Update

UC San Diego Health successfully completed vaccination work at the PETCO Park Superstation after providing more than 225,000 vaccinations. We will continue to provide vaccinations as they become available at the RIMAC vaccination superstation, the mobile vaccination unit for underserved areas, and a Hillcrest site.

For anyone who qualifies for a vaccination in the current tiers but has not yet been vaccinated, please register on California’s MyTurn website or check the CDC’s VaccineFinder website for the best appointment to meet your needs. This may be at a UC San Diego Health site or another San Diego County location, based on vaccine availability and eligibility. All adults 16 and older will be eligible beginning April 15 per state guidelines.

In the meantime, we strongly encourage you to remain vigilant, wear your mask, avoid large gatherings, keep a safe distance when in public, wash your hands frequently, continue your daily screening, and test weekly.

After You Are Vaccinated

The health of our campus and our greater San Diego community depends upon vaccination and continued vigilance to stop the spread of COVID-19. Even once fully vaccinated (two weeks after receiving your second dose of vaccine), we must all continue the practices that we know help keep our campus community safe. Wear masks, wash hands often and avoid unmasked gatherings. Complete your daily screenings, and for those of you on campus, please continue to test weekly.

If you become symptomatic after vaccination, get tested. If you have been exposed to the virus or have been in contact with someone who has the virus, get tested. Our continued vigilance is important to the overall health of our campus community.

New CDC Masking Guideline for Fully Vaccinated Individuals

The CDC issued new guidelines for fully vaccinated individuals, defined as those who have passed the 14-day mark after receiving two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Fully vaccinated individuals are permitted to gather indoors in small groups with fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask. You can gather indoors with unvaccinated people from one other household (for example, visiting with relatives who all live together) without masks, unless any of those people or anyone they live with has an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.

The new guidelines also encourage vaccinated individuals to avoid medium- and large-sized gatherings. You should also still take steps to protect yourself and others in many situations, like wearing a mask, staying at least six feet apart from others, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces.

UC San Diego requires masks to be worn at all times in common areas on campus for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. Review the campus face covering policy online for more details. A variety of inexpensive masks are available for purchase in the UC San Diego Bookstore and at Sunshine Market.

Spring Instruction Plan

San Diego County has moved into the red tier of the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy. The red tier allows UC San Diego instructors to choose to move existing spring in-person courses to indoor classrooms. As of today, 176 class sections (1.6% of all classes) are scheduled for in-person instruction for spring quarter with an emphasis on smaller lab sections and fewer large lectures. Approximately 1,900 students (5.5% of the student population) are registered for in-person classes.

Indoor and outdoor class spaces are available as well as fully remote and hybrid modalities. As usual, each instructor may choose the teaching modality that is best for their class, though in-person courses are subject to constraints on classroom availability.

There are a number of indoor and outdoor spaces for individual study including the Price Center, and outdoor study spaces on Revelle Plaza, Warren Mall, and the P416/International Plaza site. These are open to all students, without the need for reservations. Reservable study space is also available at the Biomedical Library. Please observe all safety protocols when using these spaces.

Flexibility

This pandemic has shown us that the public health situation can change quickly. It is prudent for us to remain flexible and understand that the university’s plans may change as the pandemic evolves and as the state’s reopening plans are implemented and assessed. UC San Diego will notify our campus community of any changes to their learning, living and/or working environments as appropriate. In all decisions, the health and safety of students, faculty, staff and local communities will be paramount.

Visit the Return to Learn website for the latest updates.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

I have often said that I am incredibly proud of our students, faculty and staff for their resilience, innovative thinking and willingness to try new ways of engaging. Working together, we were able to stop the surge of positive cases the nation experienced after the winter break. Your commitment to each other, to the health of our campus community, and to the health of the greater San Diego region has been exemplary. Thank you.

Throughout the pandemic, UC San Diego’s spirit of collaboration has been demonstrated and reinforced in nearly every corner of our academic enterprise. Thank you to our staff, to our faculty, and to our students for your efforts, your adaptability and your courage to explore, learn and grow. I appreciate every one of our dynamic, resourceful and brilliant community members.

Pradeep K. Khosla
Chancellor