Health Sciences In The Media

Are you more likely to get long-haul COVID-19 from the original strain of the coronavirus or from the delta variant? Janko Nikolich-Zugich, MD, PhD, Department Head of Immunobiology at the College of Medicine – Tucson, says that’s still something they are researching. Most of the long-haul cases that have been diagnosed so far come from the original strain or early variants like Alpha.

A new CDC study looked at 2,500 pregnant women who got the mRNA vaccine and found no increased risk of miscarriage. Now, the CDC is strengthening its recommendation and urging all pregnant women to get protected as the delta variant surges. Debra Guinn, MD, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology and vice chair of research at the College of Medicine – Tucson, studies the impact of COVID-19 on pregnant women. Dr. Guinn said her research backs up the CDC's findings. "There is no evidence it causes infertility or miscarriage. The vaccine is safe. There are no apparent negative impacts on pregnancy," Dr. Guinn said.

A parent can legally ask individual teachers if they’re vaccinated, but the teacher doesn’t have to answer, said a recent advisory in Education Week, a journal of K-12 education news. “Anyone can refuse to answer the question, but they should be prepared to be treated as if they are unvaccinated,” wrote Sarah Whitley Coles, MD, a family physician and assistant professor at the College of Medicine – Phoenix, in Dear Pandemic, a website and newsletter that offers family-friendly medical advice.

Murtaza Akhter, MD, emergency physician at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, discusses the CDC's announcement that fully vaccinated students do not need to wear masks in schools.

As CBS News' Omar Villafranca reports, the U.S. is now averaging more than 100,000 new coronavirus cases daily. The former head of the FDA warns that numbers could become higher as the new school year kicks off. Dr. Shad Marvasti, a family medicine physician and associate professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix, joins CBSN's Elaine Quijano with more.

Currently, the biggest limitation is access to care, said Laura Mercer, MD, MBA, a clinical assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology and director of OB/GYN clerkship at the College of Medicine – Phoenix. Mercer, who was not involved with the National Academies report or the analysis of it, told Medscape Medical News that it's essential to emphasize "sexual health as a core element of routine primary and preventative care" to ensure it becomes more accessible to patients without the need to seek out specialty.

The FDA is speeding efforts to authorize extra doses of the coronavirus vaccines for Americans with weakened immune systems. Additional doses may help some people with weak immune systems, but others may show little improvement, and still others may not need extra doses at all. In a study of organ transplant recipients, only a third of the patients who received a third dose showed a benefit. “I wish we had a more rational process to identify individuals within these categories who actually need it versus not,” said Deepta Bhattacharya, PhD, an immunologist at the College of Medicine – Tucson.

Children 16 and younger are accounting for a growing number of new COVID-19 cases in Pima County and nationwide. And that rise comes at a time when more than 100,000 county residents — those younger than 12 — are ineligible for the vaccine as schools reopen across Arizona, a state that has prohibited mask mandates in classrooms. “We’re seeing the perfect storm of another resurgence,” said Helene Felman, MD, clinical associate professor of pediatrics at the College of Medicine – Tucson and chief of general pediatrics at Banner Health in Tucson.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey's ban on mask mandates takes effect at the end of September. The school year begins for districts across the state next week. According to researchers in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, coronavirus cases in people under the age of 15 have been consistently higher than those over the age of 65 since the end of March. Those numbers have also climbed dramatically since the beginning of July.

A little more than two out of every three people who have mild or moderate cases of COVID-19 will go on to develop long-term symptoms. That's the troubling takeaway from a University of Arizona Health Sciences' study launched in May 2020. "This is a real wake-up call for anyone who has not been vaccinated," said lead researcher Melanie Bell, PhD, a professor of biostatistics in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.