A parent can legally ask individual teachers if they’re vaccinated, but the teacher doesn’t have to answer, said a recent advisory in Education Week, a journal of K-12 education news. “Anyone can refuse to answer the question, but they should be prepared to be treated as if they are unvaccinated,” wrote Sarah Whitley Coles, MD, a family physician and assistant professor at the College of Medicine – Phoenix, in Dear Pandemic, a website and newsletter that offers family-friendly medical advice.

Murtaza Akhter, MD, emergency physician at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, discusses the CDC's announcement that fully vaccinated students do not need to wear masks in schools.

As CBS News' Omar Villafranca reports, the U.S. is now averaging more than 100,000 new coronavirus cases daily. The former head of the FDA warns that numbers could become higher as the new school year kicks off. Dr. Shad Marvasti, a family medicine physician and associate professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix, joins CBSN's Elaine Quijano with more.

Dr. Lee will continue leading the department after increasing faculty, clinical visits, surgical procedures and research over the last five years.

Dr. Monica Yellowhair unites her cancer expertise with a love for education and her community to strive for health equity and a cancer-free Arizona.

Six fellows working with faculty mentors will conduct research around the world as part of this year’s Global Health Equity Scholars fellowship program.

Currently, the biggest limitation is access to care, said Laura Mercer, MD, MBA, a clinical assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology and director of OB/GYN clerkship at the College of Medicine – Phoenix. Mercer, who was not involved with the National Academies report or the analysis of it, told Medscape Medical News that it's essential to emphasize "sexual health as a core element of routine primary and preventative care" to ensure it becomes more accessible to patients without the need to seek out specialty.

The FDA is speeding efforts to authorize extra doses of the coronavirus vaccines for Americans with weakened immune systems. Additional doses may help some people with weak immune systems, but others may show little improvement, and still others may not need extra doses at all. In a study of organ transplant recipients, only a third of the patients who received a third dose showed a benefit. “I wish we had a more rational process to identify individuals within these categories who actually need it versus not,” said Deepta Bhattacharya, PhD, an immunologist at the College of Medicine – Tucson.

Children 16 and younger are accounting for a growing number of new COVID-19 cases in Pima County and nationwide. And that rise comes at a time when more than 100,000 county residents — those younger than 12 — are ineligible for the vaccine as schools reopen across Arizona, a state that has prohibited mask mandates in classrooms. “We’re seeing the perfect storm of another resurgence,” said Helene Felman, MD, clinical associate professor of pediatrics at the College of Medicine – Tucson and chief of general pediatrics at Banner Health in Tucson.

As gaps between health care needs and current solutions become more apparent, innovative education programs are preparing students for the future.