When we started Our Focus more than a year ago, it was during an unprecedented time in our history — a time when a virus forced us to make drastic changes to our work and life routines, when wearing a mask became a part of everyday life while hugs, handshakes and holidays with family and friends became taboo.
As the COVID-19 death and sick tolls kept ticking up, our leading medical experts reminded us to continue hand-washing, social distancing and masking to stop the spread. Our health care heroes on the front lines worked tirelessly to provide compassionate care to sick and hospitalized patients as the pandemic raged on. Our scientists toiled in laboratories to find effective treatments and vaccines. Staff and students gave countless hours working phone banks, testing stations and vaccination clinics.
It was our honor to bring those stories to you every week in this newsletter.
Today, the fear and uncertainty have given way to hope and rebuilding.
We are starting to see signs of life resuming. Events are returning this summer, there are more vehicles on the road as people return to work and school and in-person commencement ceremonies are happening, including our May 22 in-person commencement at the Alamodome.
It is time to discontinue this newsletter that was created to chronicle our COVID-19 response. However, our university news coverage, including COVID-19 updates, will continue in our weekly campus newsletter, This Week. In addition, you can find news and updates on the homepage of the intranet, My UT Health, and stay informed on our Newsroom site. We will continue to bring you inspiring stories about faculty, staff, students and residents serving the university and the community through Mission magazine, and on Impact, our online magazine focused on COVID-19.
This pandemic taught us the importance of staying connected, even while physically distancing from each other. We urge you to continue to stay connected with us as we navigate this new phase of recovery and healing, and continue our collective work to make lives better.