Health experts are concerned that Arizona’s recently approved budget, which bans public schools and universities from enforcing mask mandates and COVID-19 testing for unvaccinated students, is endangering public health across the state. “Banning schools from adopting a simple, cost-effective and scientifically proven safety measure like mask wearing while we are still in the midst of a pandemic makes absolutely no scientific or public health sense," said Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD, a professor and epidemiologist at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

Shad Marvasti, MD, director of public health, prevention and health promotion at the College of Medicine – Phoenix, says it would be a good idea to bring back mask mandates. "We don’t want to wait until after the fact and get caught with this thing already ahead of us when we know that masks work," Marvasti said.

Some nursing students and faculty are back to in-person training at ASTEC.

Dr. Scott Salomone is spreading awareness about scams to equip people with the information they need to recognize fraud and protect themselves.

Lisa Shubitz, DVM, a research scientist at the University of Arizona Valley Fever Center for Excellence, and her research team found a mutated gene of valley fever in a pathogen of corn. That became the first component of a potential canine vaccine for valley fever.

Kissing can help you lose weight: According to a 2013 report on philematology, Joseph S. Alpert, MD, a professor at the College of Medicine – Tucson, writes that a simple kiss can burn 2 to 3 calories per minute, whereas a passionate kiss can burn up to 5 to 26 calories per minute.

Shad Marvasti, MD, director of public health, prevention and health promotion at the College of Medicine – Phoenix, recommends parents get their children who are 12 or older vaccinated to protect them from COVID-19. “They can get sick and I think that not being able to have kids wear masks regardless of vaccination status, I think is ethically questionable and puts our children and teachers at unnecessary risk," Marvasti said.

Over the last 10 days in Arizona, COVID-19 cases have slowly started to increase after plateauing for a while. “Cases may continue to inch up just a little bit, but I don’t expect hospitalizations to change much,” said Joe Gerald, MD, PhD, an associate professor and director of the public health policy and management program at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

People who contract COVID-19 even after vaccination are likely to have a lower viral load, experience a shorter infection time and have milder symptoms than unvaccinated individuals, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. "If you get vaccinated, about 90% of the time you're not going to get COVID-19," said Jeff Burgess, MD, an associate professor at the University of Arizona Health Sciences. "Even if you do get it, there will be less of the virus in you and your illness is likely to be much milder."