UAB Briefs: COVID-19 update, drive-in music, taking it to the streets
In this weekly online feature, we keep track of interesting people and events on campus at The University of Alabama at Birmingham.
We also provide updates regarding UAB’s efforts to cope with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
For example, UAB Hospital and UAB Medicine clinics have implemented and visitation guidelines.
For information regarding how to plan your in-person UAB Medicine hospital or clinic visit, click here.
To read other UAB COVID-19 updates or find health information, go to uab.edu/coronavirus.
To learn more about UAB’s COVID-19 safety procedures, visit uab.edu/uabunited.
Let us know about people, events and programs on campus that deserve a mention in UAB Briefs. Email jchambers@starnespublishing.com.
DRIVE-IN MUSIC
Raquel Lily will play at UAB on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m., in a LIVE Drive-in concert presented by the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center.
Lily, who recently released a new album, “I’m Leaving,” will perform with a keyboardist and bassist. She mixes styles, such as R&B, jazz, soul and electronica.
She’s known through the live-streaming platform Twitch.
Born in the Philippines, Lily was raised in New York and is now based in Atlanta.
The event will take place in the 15F parking lot, behind the former Business and Engineering Complex and adjacent to UAB Young Memorial Baseball Field.
The lot will open at 5 p.m., and vehicles will be parked in order of arrival. Tickets are $10-$15 per person; children under 12 are admitted free.
Chez Fonfon is the official drive-in restaurant partner for the event.
Other upcoming LIVE Drive-in concerts include classical bassist Xavier Foley on Nov. 18 and Eric Essix and Holiday Soul on Dec. 13.
For more information or to buy tickets, call 205-975-2787 or go to alysstephens.org.
'EXHAUSTED' FROM COVID-19
UAB Medicine health care epidemiologist Dr. Rachael Lee answered questions about the COVID-19 pandemic in a news briefing Oct. 23.
Lee said the increase in cases in Alabama stems in part from the fact that "we’re all exhausted from COVID-19."
“We have been dealing with this since March, and I think it’s easy for us to drop our guard,” Lee said. “We miss friends, and we want to make sure that we can connect with them again.”
Lee said that according to the CDC, the number of cases may be going up because “we’re having more indoor events where people are not wearing masks and maintaining social distance.”
In addition, “people may not be recognizing their illness until they start really developing symptoms,” Lee said.
Even if you only have a runny nose or mild sore throat, you may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.
“It’s very important for those people who have mild symptoms to get tested,” she said.
There could “definitely” be an uptick in positive COVID-19 cases in the winter and flu season, Lee said.
“In our community, we need to think about how we can reduce our risk while still having a safe holiday season,” she said, referring in part to family gatherings.
She suggested, for example, that Zoom or other virtual means could allow family members to share the holidays in lieu of in-person visits.
To plan for a possible surge of patients, UAB relies on its command center, which includes the inpatient operations team, medical specialists and infection prevention experts, she said.
They meet regularly to discuss logistics at the hospital and how they would cope with a surge.
The operations team monitors the number of patients in the hospital daily, looks at data from the UAB School of Public Health, works closely with the nursing staff and continually looks at opening up new beds or new areas for patient care.
People with COVID-19, after an initial 10 days, can resume their normal activities when they are fever-free for at least 24 hours.
“We want to see some sort of improvement in your symptoms, whatever symptoms they may be,” Lee said.
UAB, at the time of the briefing, was “not having a surge of flu,” Lee said.
“I think typically we start seeing our surge of flu in the end of December or January.” she said.
But she said “it’s all the more important” this year to get a flu vaccine.
BACK TO THE STREETS
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Into the Streets — an annual student-led day of service in its 21st year — was held Oct. 23.
Participants worked at 12 sites around Birmingham, with seven community partners.
Volunteer projects included cleaning up the banks of Valley Creek, packing boxes of food for the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama, planting at Birmingham Botanical Gardens and painting a mural in North Titusville.
Participants practiced safety protocols, such as social distancing.
Due to these protocols, fewer volunteers were able to participate and each site had a student and faculty/staff site leader to make sure everyone was working safely.
Eighty-four students, faculty and staff gave a combined 168 hours of their time.
Into the Streets was planned by seven undergraduate students on the UAB Leadership and Service Council.
Students registered to volunteer through the BlazerPulse community engagement platform.