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Help Yourself Campaign @ the UNT Libraries

Students can face many challenges and situations while in college. We can help you help yourself. Guide created and maintained by Brea Henson.

COVID-19 Resources, Help Yourself Campaign, UNT Library

 

The Latest Campus Alerts on the Corona-Virus can be Found at the UNT Health Alerts and Corona-Virus Updates page: https://healthalerts.unt.edu/

 

 

Library Resources and Collection Highlights

Locate books with these subjects and call numbers at Willis and Sycamore Libraries, GOVT Online Resources, and UNT Online Resources.

COVID-19 Disease

  • RA 644 .C67 A45RA 644 .C67 W75

Additional COVID-19 Disease 

Immunization, Pandemics, and Public Health Crises

  • RA 638 .A35 – RA 644 .Z56 L633

Want to Learn More?

 

COVID-19 Testing and Vaccine Information

Staying Safe for Spring 2022

UNT safety committees continue to review federal and state guidance and making recommendations for how we apply the rapidly evolving changes to our campus operations. The health and safety of our UNT community continues to be our top priority, and UNT leadership carefully reviews the latest advice from public health experts to adjust our plans accordingly. Please do not come to campus if you are feeling ill or have a fever.

Read President Smatresk’s message to the university community.

Get Vaccinated

The best way to ensure your personal safety with regard to COVID-19 is to obtain a full course of vaccination. Vaccinations have been found to drastically reduce the chance of experiencing severe impacts from COVID-19 and minimize transmission of the disease.

UNT continues to urge students, faculty and staff to take one of the approved COVID-19 vaccinations currently offered.

Vaccine Booster Registry Open

The Student Health and Wellness Center has resumed providing COVID booster shot clinics this week. UNT students, faculty and staff and UNT System employees who need a COVID booster can register online by clicking on the link for the vaccine series they received initially. The health center will schedule registrants for future clinics based on staff availability. If you've previously had to cancel an appointment and still wish to receive a booster, please re-register. Bring proof of vaccination, including vaccine received and dates administered, to your appointment in order to receive the booster at that time. If you haven't received any COVID-19 vaccine, do not sign up on the booster registries. Learn more about initial vaccine appointments at the SHWC.

COVID-19 Testing Hours

Regular hours have now resumed for BinaxNOW rapid antigen testing through the Student Health and Wellness Center. Curative Inc. PCR testing at the Union remains on a modified schedule until classes begin.

BinaxNOW testing, Chestnut Hall 120:

  • Monday-Thursday: 8:30-11 a.m., 1-4 p.m.
  • Friday: 9:30-11 a.m., 1-3 p.m.

Curative Inc., kiosk by Goolsby Chapel:

  • Monday-Friday: 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Curative Inc., University Union 381:

Hours for the Spring semester starting January 18 (except for holidays):

  • Monday-Friday: 8 a.m.-7 p.m.
  • Saturday-Sunday: 1 p.m.-7 p.m.

COVID Testing Program

After successfully completing a Mandatory Testing Program for our community in the summer of 2021, UNT began the second phase of COVID-19 testing that fall. Every two weeks, a randomized computer program will select 2,000 members of the campus community who will be notified of their selections via email. Selected individuals will have two weeks, regardless of vaccination status, to get tested at either the Student Health and Wellness Center, one of the on-campus Curative locations, or another location of their choosing. Participation is voluntary and individuals selected this spring will not be eligible for re-selection this semester.

Approved Vaccinations from Other Countries

In addition to Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson, UNT does recognize vaccinations received in other countries as long as the vaccine is on the World Health Organization (WHO) approved list. The approved vaccinations allow you to travel to and from campus without the need to quarantine. However, you must follow other CDC guidelines regarding international travel. International faculty and students who have access to an approved vaccine are encouraged to get fully vaccinated prior to traveling to the U.S.

Please see the WHO's full listing of approved vaccines globally. The list will be updated as additional vaccines are approved.

Guidance on Employee Health Information

The University of North Texas System and its member institutions are committed to the well-being and safety of our students, faculty, and staff, as well as to the protection and confidentiality of our employees’ personal health information.

Supervisors should NOT ask questions intended to:

  • Solicit which employees have or have not received the vaccine
  • Identify underlying health condition(s) of an employee
  • Identify which type of vaccine an employee receives

Supervisors may ask questions regarding the general well-being of their employees and ensure that all employees are following safety protocols.

Supervisors are encouraged to maintain flexibility in scheduling to allow employees to take appropriate time off of work to receive the vaccination. Employees who attend COVID-19 testing or vaccination clinics offsite may utilize their accrued sick leave for the appointment.

Employees who have specific questions regarding their medical condition(s) as it pertains to work are encouraged to contact their campus HR teams for assistance.

Community Resources to Help

About the Coronavirus from the CDC

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, some causing illness in people and others that circulate among animals, including camels, cats, and bats. Rarely, animal coronaviruses can infect people exposed to infected animals, and then spread among people, as has been seen with MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV, and likely now with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19

The SARS-CoV-2 virus is a betacoronavirus, like MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV.  All three of these viruses have their origins in bats. The sequences from U.S. patients are similar to the one that China initially posted, suggesting a likely single, recent emergence of this virus from an animal reservoir.

On March 11, the COVID-19 outbreak was characterized as a pandemic by the WHO.external icon

This is the first pandemic known to be caused by the emergence of a new coronavirus. In the past century, there have been four pandemics caused by the emergence of novel influenza viruses. As a result, most research and guidance around pandemics is specific to influenza, but the same premises can be applied to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Pandemics of respiratory disease follow a certain progression outlined in a “Pandemic Intervals Framework.” Pandemics begin with an investigation phase, followed by recognition, initiation, and acceleration phases. The peak of illnesses occurs at the end of the acceleration phase, which is followed by a deceleration phase, during which there is a decrease in illnesses. Different countries can be in different phases of the pandemic at any point in time and different parts of the same country can also be in different phases of a pandemic.

Symptoms

The complete clinical picture with regard to COVID-19 is not fully known. Reported illnesses have ranged from very mild (including some with no reported symptoms) to severe, including illness resulting in death. While information so far suggests that most COVID-19 illness is mild, a reportexternal iconout of China suggests serious illness occurs in 16% of cases. Older people and people of all ages with severe chronic medical conditions — like heart disease, lung disease and diabetes, for example — seem to be at higher risk of developing serious COVID-19 illness.

Learn more about the symptoms associated with COVID-19.

Risk Assessment

Risk depends on characteristics of the virus, including how well it spreads between people; the severity of resulting illness; and the medical or other measures available to control the impact of the virus (for example, vaccines or medications that can treat the illness) and the relative success of these. In the absence of vaccine or treatment medications, nonpharmaceutical interventions become the most important response strategy. These are community interventions that can reduce the impact of disease.

The risk from COVID-19 to Americans can be broken down into risk of exposure versus risk of serious illness and death.

Risk of Exposure:

  • The immediate risk of being exposed to this virus is still low for most Americans, but as the outbreak expands, that risk will increase. Cases of COVID-19 and instances of community spread are being reported in a growing number of states.
  • People in places where ongoing community spread of the virus that causes COVID-19 has been reported are at elevated risk of exposure, with the level of risk dependent on the location.
  • Healthcare workers caring for patients with COVID-19 are at elevated risk of exposure.
  • Close contacts of persons with COVID-19 also are at elevated risk of exposure.
  • Travelers returning from affected international locations where community spread is occurring also are at elevated risk of exposure, with level of risk dependent on where they traveled.

Risk of Severe Illness:

Early information out of China, where COVID-19 first started, shows that some people are at higher risk of getting very sick from this illness. This includes:

CDC has developed guidance to help in the risk assessment and management of people with potential exposures to COVID-19.

 

Information from CDC's Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) page: https://bit.ly/3913wBW.

 

The Texas Department of State Health Services offers information for COVID-19 testing and current case counts for the State of Texas.

 

Information from TXSDHS Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) page: https://www.dshs.state.tx.us/coronavirus/.

 

 

Want to Learn How Viruses Spread and the Best Methods to Stop Them?

Review the article, Why outbreaks like Coronavirus spread exponentially, and how to "flatten the curve," by Washington Post journalist, Harry Stevens (2020). The articles provides interactive graphs to learn how viruses like Covid-19 spread and provides four simulations for how populations can reduce infection through different response methods over different durations of time. The simulations in the article use a fake virus that is modeled to be more infectious than Covid-19. 

Safety Tips

Wash your hands frequently

Regularly and thoroughly clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water.

Why? Washing your hands with soap and water or using alcohol-based hand rub kills viruses that may be on your hands.

Maintain social distancing

Maintain at least 1 metre (3 feet) distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing.

Why? When someone coughs or sneezes they spray small liquid droplets from their nose or mouth which may contain virus. If you are too close, you can breathe in the droplets, including the COVID-19 virus if the person coughing has the disease.

Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth

Hands touch many surfaces and can pick up viruses.

Why? Once contaminated, hands can transfer the virus to your eyes, nose or mouth. From there, the virus can enter your body and can make you sick.

Practice respiratory hygiene

Make sure you, and the people around you, follow good respiratory hygiene. This means covering your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. Then dispose of the used tissue immediately.

Why? Droplets spread virus. By following good respiratory hygiene you protect the people around you from viruses such as cold, flu and COVID-19.

If you have fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical care early

Stay home if you feel unwell. If you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical attention and call in advance. Follow the directions of your local health authority.

Why? National and local authorities will have the most up to date information on the situation in your area. Calling in advance will allow your health care provider to quickly direct you to the right health facility. This will also protect you and help prevent spread of viruses and other infections.

Stay informed and follow advice given by your healthcare provider

Stay informed on the latest developments about COVID-19. Follow advice given by your healthcare provider, your national and local public health authority or your employer on how to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.

Why? National and local authorities will have the most up to date information on whether COVID-19 is spreading in your area. They are best placed to advise on what people in your area should be doing to protect themselves.

Information from World Health Organization's "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) advice for the public" page: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public

Federal Announcements about Corona-Virus

From the CDC

The United States nationally is currently in the initiation phases, but states where community spread is occurring are in the acceleration phase. The duration and severity of each phase can vary depending on the characteristics of the virus and the public health response.

  • CDC and state and local public health laboratories are testing for the virus that causes COVID-19. View CDC’s Public Health Laboratory Testing map.
  • More and more states are reporting cases of COVID-19 to CDC.
  • U.S. COVID-19 cases include:
    • Imported cases in travelers
    • Cases among close contacts of a known case
    • Community-acquired cases where the source of the infection is unknown.
  • Three U.S. states are experiencing sustained community spread.
  • View latest case counts, deaths, and a map of states with reported cases.

 

Pandemic Preparedness Resources

While the content at the links provided below was developed to prepare for, or respond to, an influenza (“flu”) pandemic, the newly emerged coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory disease that seems to be spreading much like flu. Guidance and tools developed for pandemic influenza planning and preparedness can serve as appropriate resources for health departments in the event the current COVID-19 outbreak triggers a pandemic.

Information from CDC's Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) page: https://bit.ly/3913wBW.

International Announcements about Corona-Virus

Other Covid-19 Resources

Copyright © University of North Texas. Some rights reserved. Except where otherwise indicated, the content of this library guide is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. Suggested citation for citing this guide when adapting it:

This work is a derivative of "Help Yourself Campaign @ the UNT Libraries", created by [author name if apparent] and © University of North Texas, used under CC BY-NC 4.0 International.

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