The coronavirus pandemic has soared to more than 26 million cases in the United States as new studies show that younger folks are largely responsible for the spread. Dr. Shad Marvasti, Director of Public Health Prevention and Health Promotion at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix, breaks down the latest coronavirus developments.

Experts say the best way to minimize fear surrounding COVID-19 vaccines is for medical professionals to listen to people's concerns and connect them with correct and accessible information. "We have to be transparent with people, we have to talk about stuff, but we always have to start by listening, understanding and trying to correct the distortions that people may be having," said Dr. Francisco Moreno, professor of psychiatry at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson.

Joe Gerald, an associate professor with the University of Arizona's Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, said Arizona is in a four-week stretch where the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are coming down. "We are trending in the right direction, but we have to remember we are coming down from just a catastrophic peak.”

An interprofessional team of researchers asked UArizona employees aged 50 and older what kind of support they need, then designed programs to provide it.

Health Sciences educator Lisa Quale of the Skin Cancer Institute says the wintertime is no time to ease up on protection from the sun.

State Superintendent Kathy Hoffman delivered her annual State of Education Address Tuesday, focusing on COVID-19's impact on schools and calling for more funding. "Thinking about COVID in schools is a difficult problem because we really lacked the high-quality data that we need to make good decisions," said Joe Gerald, an associate professor with the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

Continuing coverage: Even as demand for COVID-19 vaccines massively outstripped supply, 553 doses of the vaccine had to be discarded at Maricopa County sites in the first month that vaccines were available. However, some public health experts say this is to be expected for a mass vaccination campaign. "The reality is that it's likely there is some wastage," said Dr. Shad Marvasti of the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix.

Even as demand for COVID-19 vaccines massively outstripped supply, 553 doses of the vaccine had to be discarded at Maricopa County sites in the first month that vaccines were available. However, some public health experts say this is to be expected for a mass vaccination campaign. "The reality is that it's likely there is some wastage," said Dr. Shad Marvasti, director of the Public Health, Prevention and Population Health curriculum at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix.

Scientists say COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are trending down in Arizona and in many parts of the country. The Pima County Health Department says hospitals are still straining under the pandemic, but ICU bed availability has improved into the double digits. “The absolute number of cases and hospitalizations remains dangerously or critically high,” said University of Arizona Health Sciences researcher Dr. Joe Gerald.

In recent weeks, Arizona has consistently led the nation for the highest number of cases and the highest number of COVID-related deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's COVID Data Tracker. Comprising 26% of the population in Coconino county where the Arizona portion of the sprawling Navajo reservation is located, indigenous people have suffered 77% of the county's COVID-19 deaths. Brandy Carothers, a coordinator of clinical research at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix; and Dr. Tommy Begay, a cultural psychologist at the UArizona College of Medicine – Tucson, are interviewed.