Pfizer and Moderna say their vaccines are about 95% effective at preventing people from getting sick with COVID symptoms. Preliminary evidence from Moderna showed that participants in a clinical trial who received the vaccine and were tested for COVID between their first and second doses had a roughly two-thirds reduction in asymptomatic infections. "That means there’s a substantial, substantial reduction in overall infections just from that first dose," said Deepta Bhattacharya, an associate professor of immunobiology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson.

Scarring of lungs, shortness of breath, lack of smell and inflammation of the heart, are but some of the ailments COVID-19 leaves in patients long after the acute illness has passed. “We’ve also seen these long-term COVID symptoms with people who have been very mildly symptomatic and young and otherwise healthy. So, we don’t completely understand it,” said Dr. Shad Marvasti, from the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix.

California had the worst coronavirus infection rate in the nation last week. Now, Arizona has claimed that grim distinction, with one university health expert calling it “the hot spot of the world.” Joe Gerald, a professor of public health policy and management at the University of Arizona, said the state pushed down the curve over the summer with restrictions on businesses including restaurants, bars, gyms, movie theaters and water parks.

Doctors from the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson Department of Psychiatry said they are seeing an increasing number of patients battling mental health issues. "Initially there might have been a bit of honeymoon period," Dr. Jordan Karp, Department of Psychiatry professor and chair. That period is long over. It has been almost one year since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Karp said recent events are taking a toll on many.

The antibody test developed at the UArizona Health Sciences can be used to confirm a positive antibody response after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.

As bad as COVID is in California, Arizona has actually topped it in cases per resident. "We are at about 118 cases per 100,000 per day right now, which is extremely alarming," said Kacey Ernst of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Arizona.

One of the scariest elements of COVID-19 is that even among those who survive the disease, damage to the lungs can linger afterward, and it's unclear whether that tissue will fully recover with time. "It is very concerning because we haven't seen this degree of fibrosis in any other disease in the past, even with the original SARS," said Sachin Chaudhary, MD, director of the Interstital Lung Disease Program at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson.

Continuing coverage: Glen Fogerty, associate dean of admissions and recruitment at the University of Arizona College of Medicine — Phoenix, talks to "The Show" co-host Mark Brodie about the rise in applications to medical school due to the so-called "Fauci Effect."

Continuing coverage: In advance of the 65th anniversary of her breast cancer diagnosis, Tucson businesswoman Ginny Clements has given $8.5 million to the University of Arizona Cancer Center.

Arizona continues to have one of the highest COVID infection rates in the country, and a Tucson zip code has one of the highest case counts in the state. Researchers on the University of Arizona’s COVID modeling team said the 85706 zip code has remained a hot spot since Nov. 1, 2020.