The Omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 is now overwhelmingly dominant in Arizona. Three researchers and physicians from the University of Health Sciences, are quoted.

Saskia Popescu, PhD, infectious disease epidemiologist and infection prevention expert at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, discusses the severity of Omicron’s toll on the healthcare system.

Shad Marvasti, MD, an associate professor of family and community medicine at the College of Medicine – Phoenix, discusses the recent surge in COVID-19 cases fueled by the Omicron variant.

Three researchers from the University of Miami, the UArizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, are recruiting 100 households for a study to quantify the amount of dust kids inadvertently ingest at home.

Since 2014, the award has given faculty conducting research tools to advance their career through funding, salary support and collaborative opportunities.

Persuading people to line up for shots every few months is probably a losing proposition. About 73 percent of American adults are fully vaccinated, but so far just over a third have opted for a booster. Deepta Bhattacharya, PhD, a professor of immunobiology at the College of Medicine – Tucson, is quoted.

Virus-related emergency room visits have set a pandemic record in Arizona, where hospitals are crowded and cases are up even though deaths from COVID-19 have tapered off a bit. Frank LoVecchio, DO, MPH, a professor of emergency medicine at the College of Medicine – Phoenix, attributed the jump to increased testing demand as more people arrive at emergency departments because they don’t know where to get tested.

Half of the gift will go toward scholarships for health sciences students and the other half will support the BIO5 Institute's KEYS Internship program.

Donald S. Weinstein, MD, was a founder of the widely admired Arizona Telemedicine Program at the College of Medicine – Tucson.