Health Sciences In The Media

A study at the University of Arizona that began this past May is specifically tracking self-reported menstrual experience in a subset of participants in a larger, longer-running study of the effects of the pandemic on health. "We have about 600 women in this reproductive cohort and we're following them for a variety of things, so we're collecting saliva to measure cortisol, we're collecting dried blood spots to measure anti-Müllerian hormones, which is a marker of ovarian reserve," said Leslie Farland, ScD, MSc, an assistant professor at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

High levels of community spread, a category that currently engulfs almost the entire state of Arizona, puts everyone at some risk, though unvaccinated people not wearing a mask face the most serious risks. "They have no protection against the virus," said Farshad Fani Marvasti, MD, an associate professor and director of the public health, prevention and health promotion curriculum at the College of Medicine – Phoenix.

Research conducted by Joe Gerald, MD, PhD, associate professor of public health policy and management at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, shows the rate of COVID-19 transmission among children is poised to surpass that of older age groups for the first time. “With continued K–12 in-person instruction, plus opening of our major universities, there will be additional pressure on transmission among children and young adults," Dr. Gerald said.

Deepta Bhattacharya, PhD, an immunologist at the College of Medicine – Tucson, explains how COVID-19 vaccines provide lasting immune durability. "The quality of the antibody improves over time. It takes far fewer of those new antibodies to protect you. So I think that worrying about antibody decline is not something that's productive," Bhattacharya says. Note: This content appeared on more than 60 local NPR affiliate websites.

Dr. Koenraad Van-Doorslaer, PhD, an assistant professor of virology and immunobiology at the College of Medicine – Tucson, says the most effective mask is the N95, usually reserved for healthcare workers, followed by the KN95. "Regardless of what type of mask people are wearing, I think it's important that we wear something," Van-Doorslaer said.

Facing a slowing rate of Arizonans getting vaccinated, Gov. Doug Ducey last Thursday tapped former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona, MD, MPH, to be his new senior health advisor on COVID matters. Dr. Carmona currently is a professor of public health at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and most recently served as the director of the University of Arizona COVID Response Team.

Uncertainty remains over whether the vaccine or negative-test requirements actually make large concerts safe even if held outdoors. It turned out that Lollapalooza was not a superspreader event, at least according to Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady, who reported only 203 attendees were diagnosed with COVID. Saskia Popescu, PhD, MPH, MA, an infectious disease epidemiologist and adjunct professor at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health sees the Lollapalooza data as "a really good sign,” but says an outdoor concert is not without risk, especially in places where the delta variant has thrived.

Facing a slowing rate of Arizonans getting vaccinated, Gov. Doug Ducey on Thursday tapped former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona, MD, MPH, to be his new senior health advisor on COVID matters. Dr. Carmona currently is a professor of public health at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and most recently served as the director of the University of Arizona COVID Response Team.

It is possible, but extremely rare, to contract COVID and Valley Fever at the same time. If you’ve had Valley Fever, you’re not more susceptible to COVID. It’s a popular belief that you won’t get Valley Fever after living here for a few years. The median diagnosis time for residents is actually 12 years, and the fungus can lie dormant in your body. It is not contagious, and there’s no real way to prevent it, but you can help by avoiding dust. The Valley Fever Center for Excellence at the University of Arizona has a wealth of information about the disease on its website.

A landmark study, conducted by the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse, found youth tobacco and prescription drug use rose while alcohol use declined during the pandemic. Cody Welty, a doctoral student and mental health researcher in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, emphasizes the pressure the pandemic continues to place on kids. “Ask them how their day was and really wait and listen to hear the answer. It’s hard. Online school is hard and going back to school is hard right now,” he said.