COVID-19 in the News

Experts say people previously infected with the coronavirus may get a significant boost in immunity if they follow up with vaccination. "Antibody levels are really variable after recovering from infections, and those at the lower end of the spectrum might be more susceptible to reinfections,” said Deepta Bhattacharya, a professor of immunobiology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson. "But after a single vaccine in people who have recovered from COVID-19, antibodies skyrocket up, including those that neutralize variants of concern."

As long-term COVID continues to linger in thousands, young people suffering from its residual effects will undoubtedly return to schools and colleges needing more support and accommodation, but with disability infrastructure being underfunded and not widely understood in many colleges, schools will need to re-examine systems they have in place for these students, disability experts said. Amanda Kraus, the executive director of disability resources at the University of Arizona, said the school, which has over 44,000 students, has already seen a significant increase in COVID-related requests for accommodations on campus. "The pandemic has really taught us that there is a need for more flexibility, compassion and a universal design that will benefit not just those with disabilities but everyone, and my hope is that we retain some of that the things that were put in place to adapt to the pandemic," she said.

An article analyzes the difficulty of identifying deaths caused by early cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. Michael Worobey, head of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona, said that it's highly unlikely that any of those people caught the virus in the United States, but it's possible that some had recently been to China. "If any of them are real, they'd be travel-linked cases, and that's conceivable," he said.

Jeffrey Kucik, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Arizona, writes about the expiration of unemployment insurance for millions of people in the U.S.

Fewer Americans are unwilling to get vaccinated compared to late June. Today, 19% say they won't get a COVID-19 shot, down from 28% earlier this summer. When high-ranking politicians, including former President Donald Trump, made false claims about the virus early on in the pandemic and cast doubt about scientists and public health experts, it further stoked a "stressful political climate," said Saskia Popescu, an epidemiologist and biostatistician at the University of Arizona.

With forfeits possible this year, teams see vaccinations as competitive advantages, prompting locker room campaigns to drive rates higher. The results have often been robust, with many teams vaccinated at higher rates than their surrounding communities. The University of Arizona, Boston College and Mississippi have reported 100% vaccination rates among football players. Some coaches have tried to help players' parents navigate an uncertain era. Jedd Fisch, the new coach at the University of Arizona, said he had used video calls to make a blunt case to parents: "I don’t want to have to call you to tell you your son's in the hospital."

Continuing coverage: New studies suggest mRNA vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna trigger the immune system to establish long-term protection against severe COVID-19. While antibody levels reach a peak about a month after the second mRNA shot, the quality of antibody improves over time according to University of Arizona bioimmunologist Deepta Bhattacharya. "The quality of antibodies in the body improves over time," Bhattacharya said. "It takes way fewer of them to protect you."

When the CDC announced in mid-May that fully vaccinated people no longer needed to wear masks in most indoor settings, it felt like a milestone to many Americans, indicating that we might be one step closer to the end of the pandemic. It's understandable, then, that the agency's decision several weeks ago to bring back indoor mask recommendations even for vaccinated people led to anger, frustration or confusion for many. "The vaccines are highly effective, but we know they're not perfect, so it’s important to use complementary measures like masking for those areas with higher levels of Covid in the community," said Saskia Popescu, an epidemiologist at the University of Arizona.

New studies suggest mRNA vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna trigger the immune system to establish long-term protection against severe COVID-19. While antibody levels reach a peak about a month after the second mRNA shot, the quality of antibody improves over time according to University of Arizona bioimmunologist Deepta Bhattacharya. "It takes far fewer of those new antibodies to protect you," Bhattacharya says. "So I think that worrying about antibody decline is not something that's productive."

More than a year since the pandemic shifted many employees to remote work and made virtual meetings a familiar part of daily life, new research from Allison Gabriel, McClelland Professor of Management and Organizations and University Distinguished Scholar in the University of Arizona Eller College of Management, suggests many workers suffer from "Zoom Fatigue" – a feeling of being drained and lacking energy following a day of virtual meetings.