Health Sciences In The Media

Population health researchers say that they still expect the national death rate to return to more normal-looking levels as Covid-19 deaths recede. But that doesn’t mean the pandemic’s impact will disappear. “What the challenge will be is being able to quantify those lingering effects. They won’t be as dramatic, but that doesn’t make them any less real,” said Dr. Heidi Brown, an associate professor at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

Jeffery Hanna, a clinical research coordinator at the College of Medicine – Phoenix, is a recipient of the Arizona Family’s Pay It Forward award. Hanna has spent the last year doing nasal swab and saliva testing, and helped organize many pop-up vaccine clinics.

The University of Arizona has seen a 26% increase overall for all its epidemiology applications compared to this time last year and it's still accepting new applicants. Interest in the MPH Applied Epidemiology program has nearly tripled. "I think it would be right to say that COVID-19 has really brought public health to the forefront of our lives," said Dr. John Ehiri, a professor and associate dean for academic affairs at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. This story was picked up by 26 Fox affiliate television stations across the U.S., including Atlanta, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.

Because of two concerning mutations, the B.1.617 variant discovered in India has been given a scary nickname “double mutant,” an incorrect term that is “completely unhelpful,” said Dr. Deepta Bhattacharya, an associate professor of immunobiology at the College of Medicine – Tucson.

A new study found that vaccination rates in rural America lagged urban counties during the first four months of the nation's concerted immunization push. "The counties that have lower uptake in the vaccines are also the ones who have been disproportionately hit by all those negative outcomes related to the COVID-19 pandemic," said Dr. Daniel Derksen, director of the Center for Rural Health.

Tamoxifen and steroidal aromatase inhibitor use among women with breast cancer was associated with a significantly lower risk for Alzheimer’s disease, a retrospective cohort study showed. “Our lab has helped to develop a link between the decrease in estrogen status seen in women during menopause to the increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease in women overall in this age group,” said Gregory L. Branigan, an MD‐PhD at the UArizona Center for Innovation in Brain Science.

Dr. John Galgiani, a professor and director of the Valley Fever Center for Excellence at the College of Medicine – Tucson, and a group of researchers are working on a new valley fever vaccine formula for dogs that uses a live version of the fungus. Testing is not complete, but it could reach the market for use in dogs as early as next year.

The University of Arizona is participating in a nationwide COVID-19 post-vaccination study to help determine whether or not vaccinated individuals who are exposed to COVID-19 are still able to transmit the virus to others. Dr. Lori Fantry, a professor and associate clinical director of the College of Medicine’s Infectious Diseases Division, says the school hopes to enroll at least 100 students in the coming weeks.

Dr. Shad Marvasti, an associate professor of Family, Community and Preventive Medicine at the College of Medicine – Phoenix, expects a growing body of knowledge about the vaccines over the next six months. “At this point what we know from vaccine immunity is that it lasts at least six months, and studies are underway now looking beyond the six months time frame, to see whether or not there is still immunity."

"We're at the beginning of the end," said Dr. Joe Gerald, an associate professor of public health policy and management in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. Dr. Leila Barraza, an associate professor at the College of Public Health, added, "There's still individuals out there that are vulnerable to COVID-19, and we still need to be considerate of that."