Health Sciences In The Media

UArizona College of Nursing faculty and students with first-hand experience of the human cost of COVID-19 ran a vaccination clinic last weekend.

Thomasina Blackwater has earned her bachelor's, master's and medical degree from the College of Medicine – Tucson. She discusses her passion to help improve the pipeline for Native American medical students.

U.S. officials are poised to authorize the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children 12 to 15 years old, while some countries still struggle to vaccinate health care workers risking their lives daily. The situation presents a moral dilemma over “vaccine nationalism” — a principle rooted in the idea that a country should vaccinate its own population before moving on to other populations, says David Beyda, MD, chair of the Department of Bioethics and Medical Humanism at the College of Medicine in Phoenix. “Giving it to kids is going to move us toward herd immunity. From an ethical perspective, the primary concern is getting as many people vaccinated here as possible,” he says.

Data from the CDC has found that five million people in the U.S., roughly 8% of those who received a first dose, have missed their second shot of the COVID-19 vaccine. Yet many scientists see a glimmer of hope: 8% missed means 92% returned, which is surprisingly high. "I see that as a really amazing win," said Saskia Popescu, an infection prevention epidemiologist at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. "There's not enough credit that goes into acknowledging how national vaccination in the middle of a pandemic is a Herculean effort."

A new study found people may benefit from taking blood pressure medication even if they don’t have hypertension. Dr. Joseph Alpert, a professor of medicine and a cardiologist at the College of Medicine – Tucson and Sarver Heart Center, said some people with mildly elevated blood pressure levels are given blood pressure-lowering medications. “Studies show that they have lower risk for stroke, for example, if we get their BP down to the new lower levels of BP,” Alpert said.

"Everywhere we go, we take variants with us," said Dr. Shad Marvasti, director of public health, prevention and health promotion at the University of College of Medicine – Phoenix. "If anyone is infected with the variant in New York and the Midwest, any other part of the world, and they're coming to Phoenix, Sky Harbor, they're bringing the variant with them."

While the UA POD may be decommissioning at the end of June, the pandemic is not over. As health departments battle vaccine hesitancy, the College of Public Health’s Mobile Health Unit is working to increase access to the vaccine for communities of color, building on their work in providing preventative care for these communities. Dr. Cecilia Rosales, associate dean of community engagement and outreach, discusses the MOVE UP initiative.

College of Nursing student Alexa Kingman and Sharon Hom, a clinical assistant professor, share their learning and teaching experiences during the pandemic.

A new study found that COVID-19 survivors have a higher risk of death and health problems. Researchers also found that doctors are using prescription opioids to manage symptoms experienced by those long haul survivors. "So, the COVID-19 virus itself is very insidious. It has an umbrella of effects, including respiration, nervous system, mental health effects, metabolic disorders. So some of them also result in excessive pain and headache and myalgia among these patients," said Dr. Rajesh Khanna, a professor and co-director at the Center for Chronic Pain and Addiction at the College of Medicine – Tucson.

While you may not think of sweat as a form of testing for health conditions, some researchers believe it could be as beneficial as routine bloodwork. One research team from the University of Arizona Health Sciences is working to find more evidence that molecules in sweat can provide information on your stress response levels, circulatory system, immune system, and nervous system.