Arizona is one of a handful of Republican-led states that have issued executive orders prohibiting school districts from mandating masks. By the end of August, children accounted for a quarter of the state's coronavirus cases, according to data from the University of Arizona's Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. In Maricopa County alone, 1 in every 6 infections occurred in children under 12.

Deepta Bhattacharya, PhD, a professor and immunobiologist at the College of Medicine – Tucson, says a booster shot may offer a little extra protection against getting sick and having to stay to recover, but it's still unknown how long this extra protection will last. "The question sort of becomes, when do we need a booster versus when do we want one. I think that's the distinction we need to have right now," Bhattacharya says. This story originally published in national NPR digital.

Women appear more willing to donate their organs to family members or strangers, according to a study published Friday in the Journal of the American Heart Association. The results suggest improving communication among family members about organ donation wishes could help increase and diversify the pool of organs available for transplantation. "It's important that we start having these hard conversations a little earlier," said Khadijah Breathett, MD, the study's senior author and an assistant professor in the College of Medicine – Tucson.

Michael D.L. Johnson, PhD, an assistant professor in the department of immunobiolgy at the College of Medicine – Tucson, talks about his research and how certain metals can be used to kill bacteria.

Deepta Bhattacharya, PhD, a professor and immunobiologist at the College of Medicine – Tucson, says a booster shot may offer a little extra protection against getting sick and having to stay to recover, but it's still unknown how long this extra protection will last. "The question sort of becomes, when do we need a booster versus when do we want one. I think that's the distinction we need to have right now," Bhattacharya says.

Sarver Heart Center researchers clarify the interaction between blood pressure medications and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Dr. Adam Raikes brings murky MRI images to life, giving neuroscientists an eyeful of the human brain.

Roberta Diaz Brinton, PhD, director of the Center for Innovation in Brain Science, discusses her research and the role of estrogen in preventing Alzheimer’s disease.

Since the flu and COVID-19 are both respiratory illnesses, there has been speculation that having one illness makes you more likely to develop the other — and that having both at once could increase the chance of serious outcomes. “There is not enough data to answer questions whether the effects of both diseases are cumulative, whether the risk of mortality is higher, or how” the development of either disease might be different than when someone is affected by only one," said Purnima Madhivanan, PhD, an associate professor in Health Promotion Sciences at the Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

Health experts say there shouldn’t be any concern about getting both the COVID vaccine and a flu shot at the same time. “The immune system is pretty good at handling multiple things at once,” said Deepta Bhattacharya, a professor of immunobiology at the College of Medicine – Tucson. He noted how children often receive multiple vaccines at visits to their pediatrician.