News Briefs | June 30, 2021
MVCAC Secures State Funding for CalSurv
We are excited to let you know that the California state budget includes an annual appropriation of $1,000,000 for CalSurv. We are grateful that Assemblymember Bill Quirk championed this important issue on behalf of MVCAC in both the legislature and the media. Thank you for all of your outreach efforts - your meetings, letters, and phone calls to legislators helped reinforce the need to invest in CalSurv and supported the association's advocacy efforts. We are thrilled that MVCAC members will have continued access to this critical resource. If you have any questions please contact Ed Manning at emanning@ka-pow.com or Vanessa Cajina at vcajina@ka-pow.com
Upcoming MVCAC Meetings
Summer Meeting
July 15th via zoom
Agenda packet including Zoom login info is behind the member login here.
Fall Meeting
October 26-28, Hilton Costa Mesa
*planning in person meeting

Hotel Booking Information:
RATE: $181
BOOKING CUT-OFF: SEPTEMBER 26, 2021
PARKING: $18 SELF

Zoom login info is behind the member login here.

Register:
Click here to register online.
Please click here to register via mail/fax.

Call for Papers, Presentations and Posters
The Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California (MVCAC) will hold its 90th Annual Conference February 6-9 2022 at the Sacramento Convention Center and Sheraton Grand hotel. You are invited to submit a paper or poster for presentation at the conference. Presentations should be related to mosquitoes or other vectors, the disease organisms they transmit, or their surveillance and control.
 
Presentations may be about research results, the development and testing of new methods, equipment or products, education, community outreach and the adaptation or development of new technology relating to vector research, surveillance or control, or the administration of a vector control agency.

All presenters must register for the conference and are responsible for registration and arranging their own travel.
 
Deadline for submission of the completed “Request to Present a Paper” form is Friday, October 8, 2021. Requests received after the deadline may not be accepted.
2022 William C. Reeves New Investigator Award Applications Due 10/4/21
Applications for the 2022 William C. Reeves New Investigator Award will be accepted through Monday, October 4, 2021. The William C. Reeves New Investigator Award, memorializing Dr. William C. Reeves, who was a renowned University of California entomologist, is sponsored by the Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California (MVCAC). The award is presented to the best scientific paper submitted and presented at the annual MVCAC conference.
 
Please click here for more information.
2020 MVCAC Proceedings On Sale!
MVCAC has extra 2020 Proceedings and Papers for sale and we are slashing the prices!
 
Prices have been reduced to $10/each including shipping!
 
Please email this form to mvcac@mvcac.org to order.
CalOSHA ETS - N95 Program
From the Office of Emergency Services: On June 17, 2021, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board is expected to approve revisions to the Emergency Temporary Standards for COVID-19 prevention. To see the proposed ETS language, please CLICK HERE.  
 
Among other things, this new language would require employers to provide respirators/N95 masks for unvaccinated workers UPON REQUEST.
 
While we think that the number of employees who will request to wear an N95, rather than a 3ply face covering, will be relatively low, this could place a burden on some of our businesses. Because of this, Governor Newsom announced that the State would be providing these N95s to businesses to get them started with the new ETS language. THESE are the masks the OES has in stock. 
 
This program will be similar to the mask/sanitizer program last summer. We are opening up our salesforce portal for ordering. Justification provided should be based off of the number of employees x the county vaccination rate. So for example, Butte County has a 35% vaccination rate. So we know that 65% are unvaccinated. It would be for that group of employees that we would provide masks for. We recommend employers taking an informal poll of how many of their employees would actually utilize this option before they order. 
 
For our small business community, we would like to have a location (or two) in each county that has masks. We are asking our Regional Small Business network, the local chambers of commerce, as well as some of our local government colleagues, to partner with us and host this program. This should work for most of our requests, we wanted to offer this same option to some of our larger employers as well as the ones that cross county lines. This is where we would like your help
 
Included with this email are instructions to set up an account on our salesforce platform. We ask the associations have one account, requesting multiple orders through that one pipeline. The information we need for each order is captured in the attached resource document. Once the order is submitted, Cal OES will assess that the request is valid by checking for two things only: the order came through a trusted partner and the order amount and justification are accurate.
 
When the order is approved, you will receive an email stating that the order is being processed for your member. We will then ship the order direct from our warehouses. 
 
Here are some basic details:
1. This is a free resource
2. This is for the voluntary use of N95s by unvaccinated employees.
3. This is a one month supply
4. Ordering will be available through July 31.  
5. Minimum order is 960 (one carton is 960 masks; 48 boxes w/ 20 masks each)
6. This is only for employees within CA.
7. The State is paying for the shipping
8. The order must be placed through the trusted partner.
9. We also have surgical masks and hand sanitizer – if you are interested in these, let OES know.  
 
Attached are the basic instructions from last year, regarding SETTING UP AN ACCOUNT and ORDERING A RESOURCE
 
Finally, www.govdeals.com will soon be utilized for the marked down sale of N95s, but that is not active yet.
MVCAC Corporate Member
Fiscal Status Report Submission for 2021-22 Dues
It's that time of year again! Please fill out and email or fax back this year's MVCAC Fiscal Status Report Form for your district's MVCAC dues to be calculated.

Dues for Corporate Members are due on July 1st of each year for the fiscal year ending June 30th of the following year. Unpaid dues will be considered late on September 1st. After September 1st, a late notice will be sent which will include a $50 late payment fee. Corporate members that do not pay their dues and late fee by October 31st will be dropped from the membership rolls.

Please feel free to contact the office if you have any questions. Thank you for supporting MVCAC!
AMCA Research Fund Request for Pre-Proposals Now Open!
REQUEST FOR PRE-PROPOSALS
THE DEADLINE FOR 2022 PRE-PROPOSALS IS FRIDAY, 2 JULY 2021.

The American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA) Research Fund invites new pre-proposals for research on mosquito control and related topics for funding for calendar year 2022. 

AMCA® is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to providing leadership, information, and education leading to the enhancement of public health and quality of life through the suppression of mosquitoes.

The AMCA Research Fund is devoted to funding research that will lead to new tools and strategies for mosquito surveillance and control and ultimately protecting the public from mosquito-borne disease and discomfort from mosquito bites.
2021 MVCAC Annual Meeting - On Demand Now Available!
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. 
 
As always, do not hesitate if you have any questions at mvcac@mvcac.org.
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.
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)
MVCAC Monthly Committee Meeting Information
MVCAC All Hands Call: Third Tuesday of every month at 9am
The MVCAC 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 mvcac@mvcac.org 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 (mirbearjohnson@deltavcd.com). The email list is notified of the meetings.

Ad hoc Drone Committee: Second Wednesday of each month at 1pm
Please contact Eric Haas-Stapleton if you would like to be included on email notifications sent by this committee (Eric.Haas@mosquitoes.org).

Laboratory Technologies Committee: Fourth Wednesday of every month from 2pm – 3pm
Please contact Eric Haas-Stapleton if you would like to be included on email notifications sent by this committee (Eric.Haas@mosquitoes.org).

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:
Fall Lounge
Sept 14 – Bring it back to the Aedes
  • What are some gaps of information you need?
  • What’s your favorite Aedes species?
  • How does your prior experience guide you on where you are now as a new professional?
  • Invite Vector & Vectorborne Disease Committee chair/members
  • Invite PR Committee

All meeting zoom login information is behind the member login, please click the button below to access it.
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 mvcac@mvcac.org and we will add them to the COVID-19 page on the MVCAC website.

Thank you!
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.
“The only constant in life is change.”

Whether it’s changing sources, zones, products or even species of mosquitoes, anyone in the world of mosquito control knows this quote very well. And now the Delta Vector Control District has a new change to announce—the District has a new name. Delta Vector Control District is now Delta Mosquito and Vector Control District (District).

According to District Manager Mustapha Debboun, Ph.D., the reason for the change is rooted in increasing constituent understanding.
“I felt the residents of the District did not understand the word, “vector” by itself and didn’t have a clear understanding of our mission until we explain to them that we are providing mosquito surveillance and control services. Adding the word, “mosquito” better reflects and publicizes the primary purposes and goals of the Delta Mosquito and Vector Control District and illustrates that the District’s services and responsibilities include both mosquito and vector surveillance and control activities.”
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!

Applications can be submitted to the MVCAC office at mvcac@mvcac.org
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.

Click here to access the Google Drive.
News Headlines
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: 

 
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.



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.


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 mvcac@mvcac.org
MVCAC Jobs Board
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 mvcac@mvcac.org.
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.