COVID Antibody Test Results Hard to Interpret, Local Health Experts Say Jan. 22, 2021 State health leaders are reporting the highest percentage of positive COVID antibody tests since the pandemic began. About 40% of serology tests have come back positive for the week of Jan. 17, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. Joe Gerald, an associate professor at the University of Arizona's Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, is interviewed. KOLD-TV (CBS) Tucson
University of Arizona Begins Administering COVID-19 Vaccinations Jan. 22, 2021 To accommodate the rapid expansion of immunization, the county is planning multiple drive-thru vaccination centers, including one on the University of Arizona Mall. “The University of Arizona succeeded last year in developing one of the country’s most effective operations for providing diagnostic and antibody tests for COVID-19 to our campus and the community, and we are well-positioned to do the same for delivering COVID-19 vaccines,” said Dr. Michael D. Dake, senior vice president for UArizona Health Sciences. KOLD-TV (CBS) Tucson
Studying Female Firefighters’ Health Risks Jan. 21, 2021 A $1.5 million grant fuels a study to understand the occupational risks unique to female firefighters, including those at the Tucson Fire Department. Read more Image
Solving the COVID-19 Puzzle Energizes Research Team Member Jan. 20, 2021 Outbreak investigations are where Dr. Kristen Pogreba-Brown thrives. Read more Image
Thousands of Arizonans to Contribute to 2-Year COVID-19 Study Jan. 20, 2021 A cross-campus collaboration spearheaded by the College of Public Health seeks to understand ‘long COVID’ and other coronavirus mysteries. Read more Image
Fewer Residencies Accepting Gifts, Product Samples or Sponsored Activities From Drugmakers, Survey Finds Jan. 20, 2021 A new survey has found that interactions between U.S. family medicine residencies and the pharma industry in 2019 continued a decade-long downward trend. The survey by researchers at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, questioned the program directors of 628 family medicine residencies and compared the results to surveys conducted in 2008 and 2013. FDAnews
The Future of Cancer Treatment Lies in Vaccines, Say These Pioneers Jan. 20, 2021 Personalized cancer vaccines, where a person’s own cancer cells are deployed to train their immune system to recognize and kill their cancer, appear to be on the cusp of arriving, and academic institutions like the University of Arizona College of Medicine are trying to expedite that. BioSpace
Few Resources, Long Distances and a Fearless Outlook Make Heat Deadlier in Rural Arizona Jan. 19, 2021 Spanish-speakers and migrant workers who speak Indigenous languages can be more at risk because they don’t have access to information about the signs of heat illness, said Nicolas Lopez-Galvez, who received his doctorate in environmental science from the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. His dissertation focused on the effects of extreme heat on farmworkers’ kidney function in Hermosillo, Mexico. Arizona Republic
MJH Life Sciences COVID-19 Coalition Webinar to Discuss Virus Variants Jan. 18, 2021 The next free COVID-19 Coalition webinar focusing on what you need to know about the emerging coronavirus variants will be Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. ET. Saskia Popescu, an infectious disease epidemiologist and adjunct professor at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, is a panelist. Medical Economics
Arizona Agencies Seek Plasma Donations to Treat COVID-19 Patients Jan. 18, 2021 As vaccinations for COVID-19 continue nationwide, blood donation agencies are stepping up efforts to encourage those who have had the disease and recovered to donate their plasma to help treat the sick. Clinical trials, including one overseen by researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, are continuing to determine whether plasma transfusions have real benefits. Dr. Marilyn Glassberg Csete, chief of pulmonary medicine at the University of Arizona’s College of Medicine, said more proof is still needed. “They can’t say there is evidence unless there’s a randomized, double-blind, robustly constructed and conducted trial.” KTAR-FM (Phoenix, AZ)