The highly transmissible Delta variant rapidly spreading in the U.S. and spurring calls for masks regardless of vaccination status harbors over a dozen mutations, some of which are linked to vaccine escape and heightened spread from person to person. "The mutations allow the Delta variant virus to spread more quickly and make infected people sicker," said Janko Nikolich-Žugich, MD, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Immunobiology at College of Medicine – Tucson. "Importantly, those individuals receiving all the recommended doses of the approved vaccines seem well protected even against Delta.”

A new Bachelor of Arts in Wellness and Health Promotion Practice prepares students to work in emerging roles such as health educators and wellness coaches.

Real-world data from the AZ HEROES study show COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infections, and when breakthrough infections do occur, the level of infection and impact of the disease are significantly reduced.

A score that quantifies the changes that make breast cancer cells more aggressive could help identify patients at risk for bone metastasis.

Evidence-based medicine in general can have a tendency to delay decisions and wait for more evidence despite no clear point at which the new evidence will be sufficient. There’s an idea that staying conservative is what preserves trust. But it’s not surprising to experts to see that idea backfire – it just shows that risk analysis is a thing that even scientists have a hard time coming to grips with. “People want public health, including the CDC, to tell them exactly what they can and cannot do, and that’s not possible,” said Saskia Popescu, an adjunct professor of public health at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

A study published in Nature, found evidence that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines induced a persistent immunity to COVID-19, and that those who received either vaccine may not need a booster shot. “Anything that would actually require a booster would be variant-based, not based on waning of immunity,” Deepta Bhattacharya, an immunologist at the College of Medicine - Tucson, told The New York Times. “I just don’t see that happening.” This article was picked up and published on 57 digital sites for local TV news stations throughout the U.S.

Dr. Shad Marvasti, associate professor and director of public health prevention and health promotion curriculum at the College of Medicine – Phoenix, discusses why he thinks it is a good idea to bring back mask mandates to combat the Delta variant of COVID-19.

Some experts suggested the CDC should follow the World Health Organization's lead on requiring face masks to reduce the spread of the highly contagious variant. “The CDC needs to act quickly, without waiting, to follow the WHO guidelines and ask everyone to put the masks back on so we can stay open, protect folks, and keep the economy going,” Shad Fani Marvasti, MD, a professor at the College of Medicine – Phoenix, told Yahoo Finance Live. This article has appeared in 38 newspapers throughout the U.S.

Six high school graduates have been accepted to the College of Medicine – Tucson’s new accelerated MD program.