It's not uncommon for healthcare workers to encounter patients who still think COVID-19 is a hoax -- even when they have the disease themselves. Researchers at the University of Arizona's College of Nursing have also been hearing from exasperated healthcare workers about this issue. Jessica Rainbow, PhD, RN, is monitoring a voicemail box she set up to capture their stories. "I hear a lot of hopelessness," Rainbow told MedPage Today. "There really isn't an end in sight, as far as when this will go away. It's continuing to build and they're already feeling so burned out."

Ronald Weinstein, MD, FCAP, FATA, a professor of pathology and director and co-founder of the Arizona Telemedicine Program at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson, has received the Health Care Heroes 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Phoenix Business Journal.

Arizona public health officials are readying for a rollout of a COVID-19 vaccine in the coming months, but data by health researchers on flu vaccinations suggests that Arizonans might opt not to seek out the vaccination. "Every state has different layers of challenges," said Dr. Shad Marvasti, director of public health, prevention and health promotion with the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix and a physician who has specialized in chronic diseases. "I think the Arizona culture is such that there is more questioning of vaccines."

Arizona was in the bottom tier in three of six categories in a new American Lung Association report, which put the state dead-last for the number of patients who receive treatment after getting a diagnosis of lung cancer. Dr. Dan Derksen, associate vice president for Health Equity, Outreach & Interprofessional Activities at the University of Arizona Health Sciences, said that improvements in lung cancer have made the disease less of a “death sentence,” but the key remains screening for the disease to reduce mortality.

Another at-home COVID-19 test has received FDA authorization, joining hundreds of other at-home tests that have circulated since the pandemic began. Public health experts warn some of them may not be legitimate. Dr. Shad Marvasti, director of Public Health and Prevention at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix, is encouraged by the new test. He says accessibility to tests that can deliver rapid results will help people stop the spread of COVID-19. But he is encouraging consumers to do their homework before using any at-home test, even if it's been approved by the FDA.

A clinical trial at the University of Arizona Health Sciences designed to study the safety and effectiveness of a personalized cancer vaccine in combination with the immunotherapy drug Pembrolizumab will expand its cohort after promising preliminary data was presented at the annual meeting of the Society for the Immunotherapy of Cancer.

University of Arizona College of Nursing student Jaime Criswell, DNP, is the recipient of the Uniform Advantage-GNSA Scholarship Fund, which supports students who are seeking a master’s or doctoral degree in nursing and are members of the Graduate Nursing Student Academy.

In a press briefing on Wednesday afternoon, Governor Doug Ducey announced COVID-19 testing sites would be added to three Arizona airports. "If it's a PCR test, it's more reliable," said Dr. Shad Marvasti, with the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix. "But a negative test result by itself again it’s just one snapshot in time."

Ali McBride from the University of Arizona Cancer Center and colleagues discuss a number of topics pertaining to immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), including the diagnosis, clinical manifestations, traditional treatment options, and the advances we’ve seen in the past few years.

How long might immunity to the coronavirus last? Years, maybe even decades, according to a new study – the most hopeful answer yet to a question that has shadowed plans for widespread vaccination. These studies "are all by and large painting the same picture, which is that once you get past those first few critical weeks, the rest of the response looks pretty conventional," said Deepta Bhattacharya, an immunologist at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson who was not involved in the studies.