Dear KAUST Community,
We are now well into January and with university back in session, I wish you all a successful year ahead.
As we have all seen in recent weeks, cases of COVID-19 are on the rise in KAUST, Saudi Arabia and around the globe. We continue with our multi-pronged approach of education, testing, vaccinations and other controls and mitigations. These have served us well in Keeping KAUST Safe throughout the pandemic. Our science-based and risk-based approach ensures we make the most informed decisions in managing COVID-19, including this current Omicron wave.
We have greatly increased our testing over the last few weeks, in addition to Kingdom requirements, which has been helpful in identifying additional cases. Through contact tracing and symptomatic testing, we found that cases were on the rise, as large numbers of people were leaving KAUST for the break. This is likely due to the fluid nature of KAUST and Omicron being so highly transmissible. Importantly, 50% of symptomatic cases tested in the past two weeks were positive, which underscores the importance of testing when you have COVID-19 symptoms.
Fortunately, much of our community and the population in Saudi Arabia are vaccinated, and we are working closely with the Ministry of Health to get access to vaccines for our 5 to 11 years population as soon as possible. Vaccines are shown to protect against severe illness, hospitalizations and deaths due to infection with the Omicron variant.
However, breakthrough infections in people who are fully vaccinated are expected to occur. Omicron multiplies much faster inside the body, giving it an advantage before our immune system catches up to curb the infection, leading to the Omicron variant’s increased ability to cause breakthrough infections over past variants.
Despite this, the efficacy of our cellular immunity after vaccination remains high against Omicron, helping prevent severe disease. Importantly, getting a booster is shown to greatly increase the efficacy of the antibodies against Omicron as well. The recent emergence of Omicron further emphasizes the importance of vaccination and boosters, and therefore it is critical that everyone be vaccinated and boosted when eligible.
Here are the additional precautions we are implementing centrally to further protect you:
- Working closely with The KAUST School and Graduate School, as well as our community and university departments, to ensure all necessary controls and mitigations are in place. We appreciate your patience as logistical issues are resolved to restart in-person classes.
- Starting a program in the coming days to check the Tawakkalna status of everyone entering the gates of KAUST in addition to our locations within KAUST. Tawakkalna shows the status of both vaccination and testing, so it is important to use this control to reassure our community all those entering meet the vaccination requirements and have not recently tested positive for COVID-19.
- Testing above and beyond Kingdom requirements, and modifying groups being tested as we learn from past testing programs. Regularly review the COVID-19 email bulletins and Keeping KAUST Safe site for frequent changes to the testing program in our risk-based approach to testing.
- Continuously reassessing the highest risk groups and where we need to change our focus based on current conditions.
In addition to re-reviewing and following the Keeping KAUST Safe guidelines, we also need you as a KAUST Community member to take these actions in order to protect yourself and those around you:
- Get tested when symptomatic: When you have symptoms, you are more likely to transmit COVID-19 to others. If you have any symptoms, it is critical that you report these conditions to KAUST Health immediately following the Keeping KAUST Safe guidelines and get tested. As stated earlier, we have found 50% of those symptomatic cases are testing positive.
- Get vaccinated, including your booster, when eligible: Most in KAUST are now eligible for boosters. Science has shown these boosters are vital to mitigating COVID-19, including the preliminary Omicron studies. The booster is now required in Saudi Arabia to maintain immunization status in Tawakkalna and can be taken three months after your second dose. Book here
- Limit your activities and be more vigilant when you are at the highest risk. Returning from travel and visiting others inside the home are examples of higher-risk activities. Consider alternatives, such as meeting outside, and limit your activities with others where possible.
- Use face coverings and practice physical distancing: face coverings and distancing are two of the best controls to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Review the guidelines to determine the best way to implement for your situation.
- Show Tawakkalna where required in KAUST and at the gates once that program is initiated. Remind any visitors of this requirement.
- Educate others in your household of the requirements and actions in order to help Keep KAUST Safe and ensure any visitors are aware of their obligations when in KAUST.
We will continue to closely monitor the situation globally, in Saudi Arabia and KAUST for any changes that may impact our community, and will not hesitate to make any further adjustments where needed.
Thank you for all the measures you have taken to date, and continue to take as we move into this year ahead. Working together is how we best protect our community.
Sincerely,
Tony F. Chan
KAUST President
Chair, KC3
