News Briefs | March 31, 2021 |
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Please note: Going forward all CEU sheets need to be submitted directly to CDPH. That email address is:
- Submissions need to still be in the electronic excel spreadsheet
- Please allow 30 days to process
- Please try to consolidate the sheets as best as possible
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We hope you can join us for MVCAC’s Legislative Day which will be held virtually on April 6 & 7. This year, MVCAC members will be setting up their own virtual appointments. To avoid redundant appointments, a Lead Agency will be in charge of scheduling meetings with legislators and coordinating with other MVCAC members on a first-come, first-served basis.
Your advocacy is essential in developing allies and articulating how it is critical for mosquito and vector control districts to have adequate resources in order to protect public health. MVCAC’s main focus this year is CalSurv funding. Specifically, we are asking for $1 million in state funding to sustain CalSurv’s operations.
Please join us on Thursday, April 1 from 9:30-10:30am for a Leg Day training where we will go over key messages and the digital story map that you can use during the meetings. Click here to login and access the Zoom info.
The Legislative Committee has developed a google site (click here to login and access) where you can find information about the association’s advocacy initiatives and information for Leg Day including:
- Google sheet with contact information for all of the legislators
- Please only sign up as a Lead Agency if you are willing to schedule the appointment and coordinate with other interested agencies. If someone has already taken the Lead Agency spot, please contact them to coordinate your participation. Please try to schedule all appointments for April 6 or 7 as part of our collective "MVCAC Legislative Advocacy Days," unless the office is only available on another date.
- CalSurv budget factsheet and MVCAC factsheet to send to legislators
- Sample outreach email to set up meetings and talking points
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Bios for all legislators - will be added shortly
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Digital storymap to use during the legislative meetings and a video to send as follow up – will be added shortly
Please contact Conlin Reis, chair of MVCAC’s Legislative Committee, at [email protected] if you have questions.
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2021 MVCAC Annual Meeting - On Demand now available! |
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The MVCAC 2021 Annual Conference is now ready for on demand viewing. It will continue to be available until July 31, 2021. For those who were already registered, they will use the same link to access the talks as they did for the “live” program along with their email and login information they set up then:
Anything that was not featured on a zoom platform provided by MVCAC will be available for continued viewing and CEU credits. They are shown as a “launch webinar” in the system.
As the person watches and completes at least 90% of viewing of the webinar, it will be compiled and ADDED to their credits they have already earned. This is not a problem on the back side of things, as I can run a report for new units vs old units so they are correctly uploaded, but we CANNOT show a certificate with a difference in live vs on demand. Please let your staff know this as well, so it eases any questions.
No need to submit anything to MVCAC saying its complete, reports will be run weekly and submitted to CDPH for inputting.
If you have staff that were not registered and you would like to do so, please use the link below:
The same price is in place for the in demand portion for anyone you add on. From there the staff member will receive confirmation information so anyone new may be added to the portal.
Thank you all for your patience as we got this piece up and running.
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Earn Credit and Access Certificate(s)
Each session has its own viewer for Credit tracking purposes. To gain credit for each session, you must watch at least 90% of the session.
For the Symposia sessions ONLY: you will ALSO need to complete the touchpoint quiz which will pop up as a dialogue box during the Symposia sessions while watching the session.
The Overall session evaluation and the Code of Conduct Affidavit can be found in the Certificate Tab and is required to access the Overall Certificate which will show how many credits you received for each session you complete.
To receive your CEU certificate, you will need to complete the overall evaluation, acknowledge the Code of Conduct, and all touch points for each symposium for the full conference and then you will be awarded your certificate of completion. Access to the content and Overall evaluation will be available until July 1, 2021. Please make sure to complete all session and your overall evaluation by or before July 1, 2021.
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For the Ethics Certificate you will need to be manually marked complete so access to this certificate should be available shortly after the conference ends. (this is complete and the Ethics Certificate is now on the portal as well) |
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WNV Dead Bird Call Center opens April 12 |
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West Nile virus season is approaching, and the California WNV and Dead Bird Call Center (877-WNV-BIRD; 877-968-2473) will be live Monday, April 12th. Public online reporting at westnile.ca.gov will also continue. Call center hours are 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday.
How to reach us: Margaret Kerrigan will be responding to many dead bird reports in April-May. Her desk line is 510-412-6251; my number is 510-412-6255. You can reach the call center staff at the direct agency line: 510-412-4601, and at [email protected].
If you have questions now or during the season, feel free to contact me.
Thank you,
Leslie
Leslie Foss, M.S.
Arbovirus Biologist/WNV Dead Bird Coordinator
Vector-borne Disease Section
California Department of Public Health
850 Marina Bay Parkway, Richmond, CA 94804
Phone: 510-412-6255
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We recommend addressing cover letters to Karen Mogus, Deputy Director, and cc’ing Gurgagn Chand on the email transmittal.
Division of Water Quality
c/o NPDES Unit
State Water Resources Control Board
1001 I Street, 15th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
Their email addresses are listed here.
If you have had more recent contact with Gurgagn’s supervisors, you may also want to cc them as well on the email transmittal. These people may include:
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MVCAC Monthly Committee Meeting Information |
MVCAC Executive Board: Third Tuesday of every month at 9am
The MVCAC Executive Board is now holding monthly statewide Zoom meetings to engage, inform and support our members. Join us on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 9am for an Association update and discussions on topics of importance including legislative and regulatory matters, outreach efforts, committee projects, continuing education updates, and COVID-related activities.
If you have a topic you would like to discuss, please email [email protected] with “Monthly Meeting Topic” in the subject line.
PR Committee: Second Thursday of every month at 2pm
The MVCAC PR Committee is now holding monthly Zoom meetings to exchange information, provide updates on subcommittee progress and to support each other as communications professionals.
VVBD Committee: First Tuesday of every month at 8am
Committee members are not required to make every meeting, but are required to check in prior to any meeting they cannot attend.
If you are interested in being on the VVBD email list please email Mir Bear-Johnson ([email protected]). The email list is notified of the meetings.
Laboratory Technologies Committee: Fourth Wednesday of every month from 2pm – 3pm
MVCAC New Professionals Virtual Lounge: Second Tuesday once a quarter from 11am – 12pm
This is a networking hour for vector control professionals with less than 5 years of industry experience.
Click here for more information and upcoming topics.
Next meeting topic:
Spring Lounge
April 13 – Tick tock hour with Fleas, Flies, and Non-mosquito Fun
- What special projects are you working on that are vectors (non-mosquitoes)
- What’s your favorite tick species?
- How does your prior experience guide you on where you are now as a new professional?
- Invite IVM Committee chair/members
All meeting zoom login information is behind the member login, please click the button below to access it.
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2021 Sentinel Chicken Orders |
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Chickens are being supplied by Haley Farms in Modesto for Northern California and Southern California this year.
Northern and Southern Region
Pick-up date: April 15, 2021 (7 a.m.- 9 a.m.) in Modesto
Haley's Egg Farm
1030 Ladd Road
Modesto, CA 95355
In case of issue their phone is: (209) 649-4579
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Vector lab freezer space for COVID-19 vaccine |
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As the vaccine for COVID-19 becomes more broadly available, Public Health Departments may need additional cold storage. If your District has or can make space in ultra-low temperature freezers (-70 degrees C or colder), please consider contacting your local Public Health Departments to learn if it can be utilized. We’re all in this together, and being part of a public health solution to COVID-19 will make everyone stand ever so taller. |
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Share Your Post COVID-19 Exposure Methods With Us |
MVCAC is looking for member districts to share with us their post COVID exposure methods and logistics. Please email the methods you have in place to [email protected] and we will add them to the COVID-19 page on the MVCAC website.
Thank you!
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MVCAC Member Resources Re: COVID-19 |
MVCAC will be assembling and posting some information and templates of what some Districts have created and shared as they manage their operations. Items like sample document for field staff to carry in addition to their ID to validate status/purpose and actions related to seasonal hires. It will be posted as it becomes available to a new members-only page on the MVCAC website.
Click the button below to login and view.
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Delta Vector Control District (District) is proud to announce the opening of its most innovative facility to date, the Alburn Fish Hatchery. The hatchery is named after the District’s previous General Manager Michael Alburn and marks the end of a three-year building project. The project included the renovation of the District’s existing 699 square foot, semi-covered, outdoor mosquitofish facility and resulted in a new 925 square foot indoor mosquitofish facility with space for two new offices. |
Submit your district for the next Agency Spotlight |
Does your agency have a success story, a staff member you would like to publicly recognize, or an innovation by your agency that you would like to highlight? "Agency Spotlight" on the MVCAC website is one way to share your story! Each submission which meets the specified criteria will be reviewed and posted on the MVCAC website on the Agency Spotlight page and highlighted on the homepage in the rotating feature box. Each story will remain posted for 1-2 months before being moved to a publicly archived page.
Interested? Click here to fill out an application!
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HR resources for districts to use and to upload information into |
District Managers - Please upload your HR resources and information into this Google Drive along with using it for your own district.
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MVCAC News Briefs - Giant Asian Hornets |
Please note: The items contained below are not the views or opinions of MVCAC but they are what is being reported in the media. The goal of MVCAC providing this information is to keep MVCAC members informed of all news articles that are being presented regarding Giant Asian Hornets.
CSDA Giant Asian Hornets Video:
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MVCAC News Briefs - Zika Updates |
Please note: The items contained below are not the views or opinions of MVCAC but they are what is being reported in the media. The goal of MVCAC providing this information is to keep MVCAC members informed of all news articles that are being presented regarding Zika.
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MVCAC News Briefs - Other Outbreaks |
Please note: The items contained below are not the views or opinions of MVCAC but they are what is being reported in the media. The goal of MVCAC providing this information is to keep MVCAC members informed of all news articles that are being presented regarding other outbreaks.
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Do you have important news to share about your district or mosquito and vector issues? |
If you would like your news to be included in the MVCAC News Briefs, please send press releases and/or links to relevant news articles to [email protected]
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Invitation: Adulticide Delivery System Crowdfund |
An opportunity for districts and mosquito control industry to participate in the development of a new mosquito adulticide spray system for UAS.
Please note: MVCAC does not endorse this in any way.
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Interested in a career in mosquito and vector control? Check out the MVCAC Jobs Board at www.mvcac.org
Have a Job or RFP to post to MVCAC.org?
Requests to post job listings (no more than 500 words in length) should be submitted to the webmaster at [email protected].
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MVCAC Sustaining Member Corner |
Note: MVCAC does not endorse the products below, but we do support our Sustaining Members
Central Life Sciences has announced the release of Aqua Zenivex™ E20, a reduced-risk adulticide for mosquito control professionals.
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