Air Quality Monitoring
Air Quality Monitoring
Last Updated: September 20, 2023
The Environmental Protection Agency developed the Air Quality Index (AQI) to make information available about the health effects of common air pollutants. To check current air quality in your area, visit the Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow website and search by zip code.
Read the latest message to UCSF faculty, staff and learners from Douglas Dresnek, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Environmental Health & Safety, and Kevin Dugan, Interim Director, Enterprise Emergency Management.
COVID-19
COVID-19
COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a virus named SARS-CoV-2 that was discovered in December 2019. The coronavirus is very contagious and has quickly spread around the world.
Learn more about how UCSF is working to keep our community safe
Influenza
Influenza
Last updated: August 28, 2023
Flu Shots Available on September 6
In a message from Josh Adler, MD, Chief Clinical Officer of UCSF Health, to UCSF’s faculty, staff, learners, and volunteers, he noted the importance of getting a flu vaccine to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues, our patients and the community. To help prevent the spread of this disease, UCSF is offering free flu vaccines to faculty, staff, learners, and volunteers to prevent the spread of this disease.
Key highlights:
- The UCSF flu clinic schedule begins on Sept. 6
- The compliance deadline for those who work in a health care facility, including faculty, staff, learners, and volunteers is Nov. 1.
- Flu vaccinations are required by public health agencies and the University of California.
- Learn more on the HR website.
Mpox
Mpox
Last Updated: September 14, 2023
Mpox (pronounced “em-pox”) is an infectious disease that’s transmitted through close contact and causes a rash on various parts of the body. The mpox virus is part of the same family of viruses as variola virus, the virus that causes smallpox. Mpox symptoms are similar to smallpox symptoms but milder. It is rarely fatal, and most people recover without treatment in a few weeks.
Public Health Resources
Public Health Resources
During an emergency, local, state and national public health agencies will have the most up-to-date information and resources available to your local community.
Bookmark these agencies for ongoing updates as public health situations emerge and evolve:
Metrics
These charts track the prevalence and concentration of viral sequences in San Francisco wastewater taken at the San Francisco Southeast Wastewater Treatment Plant. If you need charts specific to COVID-19 infection rates at UCSF, please see our COVID-19 dashboard.
How Wastewater Tracking Works
STEP 1
Asymptomatic and symptomatic people shed viruses
STEP 2
The viruses are excreted in feces
STEP 3
Feces are transported to the sewage system
STEP 4
Wastewater samples are taken at the sewage treatment plant
STEP 5
The wastewater is analyzed for viral sequences
STEP 6
The data is shared to inform public health actions
SARS Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19) Concentration in San Francisco Wastewater
The following graph shows the relative number of SARS-CoV-2 viral copies present in wastewater samples compared to levels of a common plant pathogen known as pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV). PMMoV is used as a baseline to normalize against other viral pathogens. Increases or decreases in SARS-CoV-2 viral copies in wastewater can be correlated with overall case numbers in a population. The Y-axis represents number of viral copies, and the X-axis represents the week of sample collection, with the date corresponding to the last day of that week. Download the source data
Last Updated: August 21, 2023