Health experts are warning we are in a race between vaccine distribution and new, more transmissible coronavirus variants. Other variants from Brazil and South Arizona have not been detected in Arizona yet. Both of those variants have a mutation that might reduce the efficacy of the vaccine. Dr. Joe Gerald, an associate professor with the University of Arizona College of Public Health, warns that just because we haven’t detected them yet, doesn’t mean they’re not already here.

Joe Gerald, an associate professor at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, discusses whether those vaccinated should still adhere to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's safety guidelines and if they should still take a COVID-19 test if they feel unwell.

The Rio Rico and Sonoita-Elgin fire districts, whose combined service areas include approximately 20,000 people living in 792 square miles, are partners in the Arizona Rural EMS Advanced Telemedicine Demonstration Initiative (AzREADI), a joint project involving the University of Arizona Health Sciences and Banner – University Medical Center Tucson.

Dr. Joe Gerald, a health services researcher at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, and Dr. David Beyda, chair and professor with the Department of Bioethics and Medical Humanism at the College of Medicine – Phoenix protocols people should follow even after being vaccinated.

Dr. Jeff Burgess, associate dean of research and professor at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, leads the FEMA-funded Fire Fighter Cancer Cohort Study. With more than 20 fire departments participating across the country, the prospective study is focused on carcinogenic exposures and effects, and cancer prevention in the fire service, including paid and volunteer firefighters, training instructors, fire cause investigators, wildland-urban interface firefighting, airport fire department and stations, and women firefighters.

Daniel Derksen, a physician and the director of the Arizona Center for Rural Health at the University of Arizona, where he is also a professor, said he’s puzzled “that some individuals and a few health providers are skeptical about the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines but are so gung-ho on ivermectin."

Visit the University of Arizona COVID-19 vaccine distribution sites.

Experts say the best way to minimize fear surrounding COVID-19 vaccines is for medical professionals to listen to people's concerns and connect them with correct and accessible information. "We have to be transparent with people, we have to talk about stuff, but we always have to start by listening, understanding and trying to correct the distortions that people may be having," said Dr. Francisco Moreno, professor of psychiatry at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson.

Joe Gerald, an associate professor with the University of Arizona's Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, said Arizona is in a four-week stretch where the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are coming down. "We are trending in the right direction, but we have to remember we are coming down from just a catastrophic peak.”

The coronavirus pandemic has soared to more than 26 million cases in the United States as new studies show that younger folks are largely responsible for the spread. Dr. Shad Marvasti, Director of Public Health Prevention and Health Promotion at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix, breaks down the latest coronavirus developments.