Announcements

Thanksgiving Holiday Week: Covid-19 Testing Schedule

Testing will be available on a limited schedule for Thanksgiving week 2020.

Local service for pre-travel testing for flights to China

For students, faculty, and staff planning travel to China, please be advised of the testing requirement that “Starting from 0:00 on November 6 Pacific Time, passengers whose final destination is China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) must provide nucleic acid negative test certificate and IgM anti-body negative test certificate to the Chinese embassy/ consulates in the United States.” The full policy is online from the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China. Students who need to find a local service to fulfill these testing requirements may utilize USC Pharmacies, that are now offering perform IgG/IgM point of care testing. The cost is $25; the testing time is approximately 15 minutes and the patient will be provided with the results. Kroger Health COVID Care, located through Ralph’s Supermarkets in-house pharmacy services, also provides services.

COVID-19: Health Advisory 11/6

This past week, we have seen an increase in the number of cases of COVID-19 in both student and employee populations; currently there are 29 active patient cases, up from a low of 8 average weekly cases two weeks ago. In addition to the cases where there was a clear exposure (a total of 15 minutes or longer, within 6 ft., over a 24-hour period) to someone positive with COVID-19, there has also been an increase in positivity in the surveillance testing of individuals without known exposures. In many cases, the transmission has been through close contact with just a small number of people—small gatherings with family and friends, study groups, and travel.

Flu Compliance Process for Faculty and Staff: November 1, 2020

Please be reminded that all “on site” USC faculty and staff have a flu vaccination deadline coming up on November 1, 2020(this coming Sunday). The following information may be useful to your faculty and staff in completing this requirement. Please share with your teams as relevant. Please review instructions for uploading documentation to MySHR (the patient records portal). Individuals will see the uploaded document in MySHR as “in review.” This does not affect the record of completion. Individuals who are out of compliance will be notified separately by email.

Questions about Insurance?

If you have specific questions about insurance requirements and options, 10 minute Zoom appointments are available for Student Health Insurance, Fees & Billing Questions: Tuesdays - 5pm - 6pm and Wednesdays - 8am - 9am. Sign up for your individualized chat. Sessions are scheduled for 10/21 through 11/17.

COVID-19 Antibody Study

The results of the USC Student Health study appeared Oct. 15, in the Journal of Adolescent Health. Participants were invited to be part of the study via an email invitation that was sent to 9,135 students enrolled for the spring 2020 semester. Only students still living in the area could participate, as they had to come to the student health center for a blood draw. The study indicates that the virus was not widely circulating in the student population prior to the closure of the physical campus in mid-March 2020. One surprising takeaway from the study could help USC Student Health doctors zero in on possible COVID-19 cases during cold and flu season. Eighty-one percent of students who tested positive for antibodies reported losing their sense of smell or taste — a symptom associated with the new coronavirus but not influenza.

All news

University of Southern California

USC Student Health

Part of Keck Medicine of USC

We're here to answer your questions

213-740-9355 (WELL)

Engemann Student Health Center

Eric Cohen Student Health Center