Health Sciences In The Media

The FDA has given emergency use authorization to allow the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in teens as young as 12. Dr. Shad Marvasti, with the College of Medicine – Phoenix, believes the vaccine is safe for teens. "Everything that we know about the virus so far, particularly for teenagers which is why this age group was the next in line to be able to get data, they really do look a lot more like adults in terms of how they react to the virus. So, the same holds true for the vaccine," says Dr. Shad.

The Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center, housed at the UArizona College of Pharmacy, now serves as a go-to source for clinical and academic support for anything venom-related. “Pretty much all the hospitals in the state know to call us after a snakebite,” said Laura Morehouse, MPH, poison/drug education specialist at the college.

UArizona College of Nursing faculty and students with first-hand experience of the human cost of COVID-19 ran a vaccination clinic last weekend.

Thomasina Blackwater has earned her bachelor's, master's and medical degree from the College of Medicine – Tucson. She discusses her passion to help improve the pipeline for Native American medical students.

A new Arizona law could permanently expand statewide use of virtual and telephonic doctors' visits, which became more commonplace during the COVID-19 pandemic. "It catapults Arizona to the front of the line in terms of telehealth law nationally," said Dr. Ronald Weinstein, founding director of the Arizona Telemedicine Program at the University of Arizona and a president emeritus of the American Telemedicine Association. "It's huge."

Research from the University of Arizona Health Sciences shows that advanced-stage kidney cancer is more common in Hispanic Americans and Native Americans than in non-Hispanic whites, and that both Hispanic Americans and Native Americans in Arizona have an increased risk of mortality from the disease.

U.S. officials are poised to authorize the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children 12 to 15 years old, while some countries still struggle to vaccinate health care workers risking their lives daily. The situation presents a moral dilemma over “vaccine nationalism” — a principle rooted in the idea that a country should vaccinate its own population before moving on to other populations, says David Beyda, MD, chair of the Department of Bioethics and Medical Humanism at the College of Medicine in Phoenix. “Giving it to kids is going to move us toward herd immunity. From an ethical perspective, the primary concern is getting as many people vaccinated here as possible,” he says.

A new study found people may benefit from taking blood pressure medication even if they don’t have hypertension. Dr. Joseph Alpert, a professor of medicine and a cardiologist at the College of Medicine – Tucson and Sarver Heart Center, said some people with mildly elevated blood pressure levels are given blood pressure-lowering medications. “Studies show that they have lower risk for stroke, for example, if we get their BP down to the new lower levels of BP,” Alpert said.

Data from the CDC has found that five million people in the U.S., roughly 8% of those who received a first dose, have missed their second shot of the COVID-19 vaccine. Yet many scientists see a glimmer of hope: 8% missed means 92% returned, which is surprisingly high. "I see that as a really amazing win," said Saskia Popescu, an infection prevention epidemiologist at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. "There's not enough credit that goes into acknowledging how national vaccination in the middle of a pandemic is a Herculean effort."

College of Nursing student Alexa Kingman and Sharon Hom, a clinical assistant professor, share their learning and teaching experiences during the pandemic.