Improvements

[white_hart]

My new senior person in charge of academic administration started last week, instantly allowing me to cancel several hours per week of meetings with the people she's now managing. Today, she mentioned that she'd been talking to C, and they'd agreed that it would be good to learn enough about each other's jobs to provide some basic cover for each other when the other was working from home.

I think this seems like an extremely positive sign.

Also, I have just had my last committee meeting until January. And I think I'm getting on a bit better with my new head of department, though I still miss the old head of department a lot.

I still despair slightly of the university's current covid strategy, which has, most recently, involved announcing actually on the day the news first reported the Omicron variant that there was no longer a need for any COVID-related restrictions on teaching. Apparently they are "considering" the updated government guidance at the moment. My money is on the response being "we don't need to change anything but do consider wearing a face covering if you think you might like to and bring a woolly jumper so the windows can be open". Meanwhile, I now have two staff who have caught covid while double-jabbed and who are both struggling with ongoing fatigue and breathlessness (and a third currently at home with a 6-year-old who has tested positive), and my brother has contracted covid at an in-person work meeting, so I decided that I was going to decline the invitation to a large in-person meeting with bonus networking over refreshments this morning and explain exactly why in my response to the meeting invitation.

My booster appointment is in 22 days. I really hope I can make it to there without catching covid...

Comments

[mountainkiss]

There is a good chance that you will be able to move up the booster in the next few days, I think, although it isn't a dead cert.

[white_hart]

It looks possible, although the question is whether there will be appointments available.

[mountainkiss]

I know. It's probably going to vary a lot from area to area. I'm going to try at 6am every day and be willing to travel across London if needed. Sending good wishes to you x

[hilarita]

At least our lot's response to Omicron has been to send round emails reminding us all to wear face coverings. Fingers crossed on getting to the booster without getting the plague.

[white_hart]

Maybe ours will say that, though lots of us have been saying all term "why can't we just tell everyone they have to wear face coverings unless they're exempt?" and the response has been "oh, we can't go further than the government guidance says". Which is utter bollocks, but they're obviously afraid that the Fail are going to call us all snowflakes or something.

[hilarita]

Even between departments there seems to be some variance in how the university's advice is being interpreted. Or enforced. I'm just glad that, once term started, they stopped yelling about how nice it would be to have us all back in the building.

[white_hart]

We are interpreting it quite strictly and trying to enforce it, but when we are only allowed to strongly encourage people we can't e.g. tell students to put a face covering on or leave the library, we can only send reminder emails which not everyone reads and those who do don't necessarily follow.

[oracne]

Fingers crossed you get your booster soon!

[white_hart]

Thank you!

[gwendraith]

I hope you get your booster without catching anything first. You might be able to get it earlier. My son and son-in-law work three days in their office and two at home. They do a LFT on the days they go in (like everyone else in the office) and any day before they visit me or we go out. I do one every time I have been near people. They have been religious with regards wearing a mask when they should and practising social distancing and have both avoided catching Covid even though they socialise a lot in pubs and restaurants. It angers me when bosses are wishy washy about what they expect their staff to do to keep everyone as safe as possible. (Sorry, small rant).

[white_hart]

I think that my department is pretty safe (we have vulnerable team members and everyone is being good about wearing masks and staying home when ill) but mask-wearing among the students has definitely reduced and it's been very hit and miss on the buses.

[caulkhead]

I am so glad your new person sounds sensible, and that the work load has lifted, even if only a little bit.

[white_hart]

Thank you!

[nineveh_uk]

My money is on the response being "we don't need to change anything but do consider wearing a face covering if you think you might like to and bring a woolly jumper so the windows can be open". 

I bet you're right. I was really cheesed off at some advice about how masks arent needed in tutorials/seminars unless a student is uncomfortable and requests them. That's not exactly encouraging for those very students, when you're putting them in a position of going against the norm. I just want to yell, look at all the people across the university with long Covid, or even 'just' troubling symptoms for a month. Why would you want that?

[nineveh_uk]

But fingers crossed you can hold out until the booster! My 6 months is mid-Jan, but I'm hoping I might now be able to get something before Christmas. It will make me a lot happier about the train.

[white_hart]

Yes, and the same for meetings; at the start of term I was That Person asking if people could wear masks in a couple of larger meetings but it is difficult to speak up about it. (Fortunately, most larger meetings have stayed online; there are a couple of people I have unmasked 1-1 conversations with but most are still masked unless outside.) And yes, case rates have been very low, but that doesn't mean that people aren't still getting ill and shouldn't be protected.

[wellinghall]

That does indeed seem positive; and the best of luck for the next 22 - 2 days.