Distributing the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the University Point of Distribution is no small task; see how the vaccine is stored and prepared for use.

Dr. Amelia Gallitano is shining a light into some of the most difficult-to-reach corners of the human psyche.

According to the AZDHS dashboard, only 10.9% of the Hispanic population in Arizona has been vaccinated when they make up 30% of all COVID cases. "Just look at all the ZIP codes that have had the most devastating, highest percentage of hospitalizations, cases and deaths from COVID, and then make those neighborhoods a priority,” said Dr. Shad Marvasti, director of public health, prevention and health promotion at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix.

Diseases linked to cigarette smoke and pollution may be increasing amid the pandemic. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), mainly caused by smoking, cigarette smoke and pollution, is the third leading cause of death in the world. Dr. Francesca Polverino, a professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson, is trying to find a way of treating it by looking specifically at emphysema.

Working in collaboration with director Dr. Emmanuel Katsanis, Dr. Jeffrey J. Pu will oversee clinical and research efforts for the adult programs.

The national study will help determine if vaccinated people who are exposed to COVID-19 can still spread the disease.

On the Health Sciences campus, the College of Nursing is a big part of the university’s COVID-19 vaccine roll-out.

Researchers hope to recruit students from the University of Arizona to participate in a clinical trial testing whether fully vaccinated people are able to contract and spread COVID-19. The study, called PreventCOVIDU, is enlisting 12,000 students from more than 20 universities across the country for the next four to five months. Dr. Elizabeth Connick, chief of the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson’s Division of Infectious Diseases, is leading the UArizona research site.

Jun Wang, an associate professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy, discusses a new treatment developed by Merck that has shown "good efficacy in inhibiting Sars-Cov-2."

For the first time this year in Arizona and Pima County, COVID-19 cases recently increased from one week to the next. "It's too early to say the sky is falling," said Joe Gerald, an associate professor with the University of Arizona's Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. "But we're definitely seeing a different trend. Things are getting a little bit worse. Our improvements are gone."