Skip to main content

Category: Health

Viral false COVID vaccine claim lands in Wisconsin governor’s race after Tim Michels tweet

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quoted: Patrick Remington, a former epidemiologist for the CDC and director of the Preventive Medicine Residency Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said COVID-19 vaccines have turned out to not be as effective as initially hoped but “the one aspect that every scientist agrees is that this is one of the safest vaccines ever produced, if not the safest vaccine.”

“I think it’s very worrisome that any politician would view information that is not scientifically sound or that maybe comes from a conspiracy theory,” he said. “I would be very concerned if that information resonates with their base, because then we’ll have policy that is being determined not by science and evidence but by superstition and by conspiracy, and that should be concerning for everybody.”

Former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson, who served as U.S. Health and Human Services secretary and has endorsed Michels, promoted COVID-19 vaccines to college students while he was president of the University of Wisconsin System during the coronavirus pandemic but did not mandate them.

Thompson said Friday he hadn’t seen Michels’ comments on the CDC and COVID-19 vaccines because he has been traveling out of state. He said spreading rumors about COVID-19 vaccine mandates is a bad idea.

“This rumor now about CDC requiring children being vaccinated should not be spread,” Thompson said.

Helium shortage: Doctors are worried that running out of the element could threaten MRIs

Posted on
NBC News

“You get these sharp images, and you can distinguish soft tissues,” said Dr. Scott Reeder, chief of MRI at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. “It’s central to many things we do in modern medicine.” MRIs help doctors diagnose brain tumors, strokes, spinal cord injuries, liver diseases and cancer. The 3D images, experts say, are irreplaceable.

15 best skin care products for rosacea and redness

Posted on
NBC News

The location of the bumps on your face can also help you figure out whether they’re the result of rosacea. “Hormonal acne or other forms of adult acne tend to involve more of the lower face, whereas with rosacea we see the involvement of the nose, the central part of the cheeks and the center of the forehead,” said Dr. Apple Bodemer, a board-certified dermatologist and associate professor of dermatology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

Unraveling Wisconsin GOP Candidate’s Abortion Position

Posted on
FactCheck.Org

Quoted: David Canon, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told us by email that it’s not uncommon for a candidate to shift positions after winning a primary or so close to a general election.

“Michels clearly has switched his position on abortion, saying that he would sign a bill with exceptions for rape and incest (after previously saying he did not support exceptions),” Canon said. “We are seeing this all over the country with candidates moving more to the center for the general election.”

$16 million in grants will support maternal and infant health initiatives across Wisconsin

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Gov. Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services announced a $16 million, statewide investment Wednesday to improve maternal and infant health, especially among people of color.

The funding, largely made possible through the American Rescue Plan Act, will be split between the state health department’s Maternal and Child Health program, the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Healthier Wisconsin Endowment and the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Medicine and Public Health. Each entity will receive $5.5 million.

The MCW endowment fund and UW-Madison will use the funding to also support community grants for programs that focus on the social conditions that contribute to racial disparities in Wisconsin’s maternal and infant mortality rates.

Despite 2 decades of progress, Wisconsin still isn’t meeting national air quality standards

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Noted: One of the major polluters, Sonoda said, is the fossil fuel industry. Across the country, coal-fired and gas power plants make up a third of greenhouse gas emissions, according to a 2020 University of Wisconsin-Madison study.

According to the UW-Madison study, transitioning to 100 percent clean energy would save $21 billion per year by averting health issues. That change, the study said, would prevent nearly 2,000 premature deaths, 650 respiratory emergency room visits and 34,400 cases of asthma exacerbation each year.

Forget Weed, Wine and Xanax: Science Has Better Ways to Treat Anxiety

Posted on
Newsweek

Dr. Ned Kalin, chair of the department of psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Psychiatry, has been studying the genetics and neurobiology of stress and anxiety for decades. One of the big surprises he’s uncovered is that the amygdala, the brain structure long thought to be the seat of fear, is not genetically associated with anxiety.

More evidence that COVID lockdowns harmed children more than the virus

Posted on
Washington Examiner

The latest data point to add to the pandemic blunder of punishing children during COVID comes from a study promoted by the American Academy of Pediatrics. According to the study by Dr. Drew Watson, a team physician for the University of Wisconsin Athletics, the cancellation of youth sports during the pandemic “was accompanied by decreased physical activity and quality of life, as well as startlingly high levels of anxiety and depression.”

American children got 10 per cent fatter during the pandemic, ‘alarming’ study suggests

Posted on
Daily Mail

Quoted: Study author Dr. Drew Watson, physician for the University of Wisconsin Athletics, said: ‘The cancellation of sports in the early pandemic was accompanied by decreased physical activity and quality of life, as well as startlingly high levels of anxiety and depression.

“Although the return to sports has been associated with large improvements in physical activity levels, quality of life and mental health, we are still seeing higher levels of anxiety and depression than before Covid, suggesting that this will remain a vitally important priority for years to come.”

How green are biofuels? Scientists are at loggerheads

Posted on
Knowable Magazine

Tyler Lark, a geographer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, grew up among farms, working on a neighbor’s dairy, vaguely aware of the tension between clearing land to grow food and preserving nature. As an engineering student working on water projects in Haiti, he saw an extreme version of that conflict: forests cleared for firewood or to grow crops, producing soil erosion, environmental denudation and worsening poverty. “I think it was that experience that told me, ‘Hey, land use is important,’” he says.

Doctors providing trans care are under increasing threat from far-right harassment campaigns

Posted on
NBC News

Dr. Katherine Gast had become accustomed to the odd social media comment or email from someone who does not support or understand gender affirmation procedures she provides to her transgender patients.

But Gast, a co-director at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s UW Health gender services program, was blindsided by what happened when the social media outrage machine that has developed around transgender issues came for her.

On the afternoon of Sept. 23, a two-minute video of Gast describing gender-affirming operations was posted by the Twitter account Libs of TikTok, a self-described news service that acts as an outrage content factory for conservatives.

DHS to offer COVID-19 rapid tests first at community testing sites

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: Dr. Ajay Sethi, professor of Population Health Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the shift is needed after the federal government ended its free, at-home COVID-19 testing program at the end of August.

“With the rapid at-home test, you can start taking precautions, and that was the beauty of the federal at-home test distribution program,” Sethi said. “But the funding dried out, and I’m glad to see that the state is going to make rapid tests more accessible.”

University of Wisconsin doctor answers questions regarding COVID-19, including masks and vaccines

Posted on
CBS 58

Recent studies have been raising medical questions surrounding COVID-19. As an example: many are wondering if the vaccine is safe for women and their menstrual cycle, and can COVID-19 cause diabetes in children.

There is also still controversy surrounding masking and when it is recommended.

To answer some of the questions that have begun popping up recently, we were joined by Dr. Bill Hartman from University of Wisconsin Health in Madison on Tuesday, Oct. 4.

Recovery programs seek to solve food waste — and insecurity — in Wisconsin

Posted on
Wisconsin Watch

Driving a university-owned van, University of Wisconsin-Madison student Morgan Barlin traverses the campus, making stops at three dining halls on a spring afternoon.

At each stop, Barlin is met by kitchen staff who present her with various leftover foods, from sweet potatoes to breakfast omelets. These foods, which would have otherwise been thrown away, will be redistributed to students at no cost.

At the end of her route, Barlin records the weight of each donation. Her calculations show that on this day, she saved 271 pounds of food from ending up in the landfill. Barlin’s organization, the Food Recovery Network at the UW-Madison, uses the recovered food to provide free community meals.

Beyond efforts on the UW-Madison campus, other programs in Wisconsin intercept still-edible food from grocery and convenience stores and restaurants that would normally be heading to the dumpster. In Madison, The River Food Pantry operates a food recovery program that collects food from more than 100 stores around Dane County.

Mobile markets bring fresh food to Wisconsin customers

Posted on
Wisconsin Watch

Quoted: But mobile markets can struggle to stay financially afloat. One researcher who has studied mobile markets for over a decade likens them to “revolving doors” because of how frequently mobile market projects start up and then stall.

“There’s often funding to start them,” said Lydia Zepeda, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor. “The question is trying to find a model that is financially sustainable — because they’re expensive.”

Providers agree screening adults for anxiety is a good idea. But who would provide the mental health care?

Posted on
Green Bay Press-Gazette

Noted: Even before the pandemic, nearly 20% of adults in Wisconsin had mental health needs, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. That percentage translated to about 830,000 people.

At about the same time — again, before the pandemic — a report by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute found significant coverage gaps across the state. The report said 55 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties had “significant shortages” of psychiatrists and 31 counties need more than two additional full-time psychiatrists to make up for the shortage.

On the other hand, some worry the mental health care workforce just isn’t there to support the spate of new patients who’ll test positive for anxiety disorders.

“I support it,” said Dr. Marcia Slattery, professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of UW Anxiety Disorders Program. “Anxiety is the most prevalent psychiatric disorder and impacts life globally. The fact that it’s so widespread and there’s really been no coordinated effort to address it, I’m in support of what they’re proposing.”

$100 Million Going Toward Autism Research

Posted on
Disability Scoop

Noted: In addition, awards are going to Drexel University to examine the use of medical services in underserved populations with autism, a Duke University study focused on developing new methods for screening kids for autism, a project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison following adults with autism as they age, an investigation of the emotional and mental health of adults with autism at the University of Pittsburgh, an effort at the University of Virginia to establish methods to identify adolescents and adults who are frequently misdiagnosed, diagnosed late or overlooked altogether and a Johns Hopkins University study looking at how genetic and environmental factors impact autism and health outcomes.

UW-Madison professors to study microplastics in Great Lakes, say research is ‘underexplored’

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Microplastics are ubiquitous. The tiny plastic particles have been found in the air, oceans and food — they’ve even made it to our gut.

But for all the research on microplastics, there’s been little study on nano- and microplastic pollution in the Great Lakes. Now, University of Wisconsin-Madison assistant professors Haoran Wei and Mohan Qin are pioneering that effort.

After a year of being bullied, her son wanted to be white. Why depression and anxiety loom larger for children of color.

Posted on
Green Bay Press-Gazette

Quoted: Dr. Patricia Tellez-Giron, family medicine physician at UW Health, associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine at University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, and Latino Health Council chair, has been practicing family medicine for 25 years. In that time, she’s been able to uniquely observe intergenerational care as her patients grow from infancy into new family systems as adults.

Tellez-Giron said it’s common, especially for Hispanic or Latino children, to be split between two cultures, which can feel like navigating two worlds simultaneously. This speaks to an absence in diverse counselors, Tellez-Giron said, and specifically, culturally competent counselors — that is, health care providers who understand and can uplift a client’s cultural identity.

“Often, the therapist does not understand our culture, why we are protective, how we all raise the kids together,” Tellez-Giron said. “And then (the therapists) tell the kids, ‘You have to be independent. You have to demand your independence.’ That creates, definitely, tension in the family.”

Workers, employers struggle as long COVID sidelines thousands of Wisconsinites

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quoted: Alexia Kulwiec, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School for Workers, said she would like to see the federal government return to providing tax incentives for employers who provide paid sick leave for people with long COVID.

Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, employers providing paid leave for up to two weeks to employees for COVID-19 could receive reimbursements in the form of tax credits, but the program ended in March 2021.

“It’s very disheartening to see that the policies that came out during COVID have essentially been reversed and undone, so they’re not there to protect employees today,” Kulwiec said.

How did the pandemic amplify health inequities? Wisconsin Leadership Summit panel will dig into it

Posted on
Madison 365

Danielle Yancey will moderate a panel titled “Lasting Impacts: How the Pandemic has Amplified our Health Inequities” on Tuesday, October 11, the second day of the 2022 Wisconsin Leadership Summit.

Danielle Yancey (Menominee/Santee) has worked in public service for nearly twenty years focusing on programs that promote social justice, education access, and equity. Currently, she serves as the director for the Native American Center for Health Professions at the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Danielle grew up on the Menominee Indian reservation in north central Wisconsin. She is an alumna of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with undergraduate degrees in women’s studies and social welfare, Master of Science in urban and regional planning, and holds a sustainability leadership graduate certificate from Edgewood College.

President Joe Biden Declaring Pandemic ‘Over’ Has Experts Reeling

Posted on
The Daily Beast

“There is simply too much uncertainty about what happens next,” David O’Connor, a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the University of Wisconsin, told The Daily Beast. “Will future variants outrun existing vaccines and therapeutics? What will be the impact of long COVID years, and potentially decades, from now? What other challenges can we not foresee three years into COVID-19 that will challenge us collectively in 2025, 2030, 2040 and beyond?”

PHOTOS: UW nurses celebrate union victory

Posted on
The Cap Times

Supporters and nurses gathered at Madison Labor Temple Tuesday evening to celebrate an agreement between UW Health and SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin. The deal announced Monday, which narrowly averted a three-day strike this week, stops short of recognizing the nurses’ union.

Workers, employers struggle as Long COVID sidelines thousands of Wisconsinites

Posted on
Wisconsin Watch

Quoted: Alexia Kulwiec, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School for Workers, said she would like to see the federal government return to providing tax incentives for employers who provide paid sick leave for people with Long COVID.

Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, employers providing paid leave for up to two weeks to employees for COVID-19 could receive reimbursements in the form of tax credits, but the program ended in March 2021.

“It’s very disheartening to see that the policies that came out during COVID have essentially been reversed and undone, so they’re not there to protect employees today,” Kulwiec said.

The U.S. pours money into health care, then holds back on social services. But those services often can do more to improve health.

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

What Amy Kind observed during her residency as a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston often frustrated and angered her.

She could admit a poor person to the hospital again and again, each time potentially costing tens of thousands of dollars.

“Yet changing someone’s ability to have safe housing — even getting an air conditioner for someone with breathing problems — was not something I could do,” said Kind, now a professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

Cooperation holds promise for a healthier, stronger Wisconsin

Posted on
The Capital Times

Evers got the two sides talking and they reached an agreement that will allow the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission to determine if UW Health and the nurses who work there are covered under the Wisconsin Employment Peace Act, which establishes protocols for workers to organize unions and to engage in collective bargaining.

This is a step in the right direction, which we hope will lead in short order to recognition of the nurses union.

UW Health nurses strike averted on eve of walkout

Posted on
NBC-15

As the countdown to a nurses strike at UW Health switched from days to hours, both sides confirmed a last-minute arrangement means potentially striking staff will show up at work rather than the picket line on Tuesday morning.

Urban or rural, many in Wisconsin live in grocery ‘food deserts’

Posted on
Wisconsin Watch

Noted: Danielle Nabak is the healthy communities coordinator for the University of Wisconsin Extension Milwaukee County’s FoodWIse program. Like some other experts, she prefers the term food apartheid to food deserts because of histories including redlining, economic disinvestment and freeway expansions that isolated marginalized communities.

“I think that really gets at more of the active disinvestment and the active oppression that occurred to create the conditions that we’re really talking about when we talk about a food desert,” Nabak said.

UW Health nurses, administrators approve agreement to avert strike

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

After days of state mediation followed by weekend discussions at the Governor’s Mansion, UW Health nurses and administrators agreed to regularly discuss workplace concerns as a state agency, and the courts likely will determine if the health system can recognize a union the nurses have tried to revive.

Medical Impact of Roe Reversal Goes Well Beyond Abortion Clinics, Doctors Say

Posted on
The New York Times

Quoted: Roe, which prohibited states from banning abortion before viability, allowed doctors to offer patients options of how they wanted to be treated. “Now that patient autonomy has gone away,” said Dr. Abigail Cutler, an obstetrician-gynecologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“I’m compelled by my conscience to provide abortion care, and I have the training and the skills to do so compassionately and well,” she said. “And so to have my hands tied and not be able to help a person in front of me is devastating.”