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Category: Health

Wisconsin not saying how many fully vaccinated residents have acquired COVID-19

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Wisconsin State Journal

Still, the relatively low tally of reported infections among those fully immunized should be taken as encouraging news, said Dr. James Conway, a UW Health pediatrician and vaccine expert. “I think this is reassuring. Four months into this, these vaccines are working as good, if not better, than we hoped they would,” Conway said. “It should be more incentive for those who are on the fence or wondering whether they should get these vaccines. … These things work.”

UW Pharmacy students help with Drug Take-Back Day

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WKOW-TV 27

“Our goal is to collect medications from patients in their homes that they may be holding on to and no longer need,” said student Dan Funk. “This will help to prevent any misuse of any medications, but also will help to remove any medications that could potentially lead to an accidental poisoning.”

UW-Madison to offer expanded appointments for COVID-19 vaccine

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Daily Cardinal

Previously, the University directed students to get a vaccine on or off-campus, wherever there were appointments available — as UW-Madison only had the supplies to administer around 700-1000 doses in a typical week. Starting this week, students are encouraged to look on campus for vaccine appointments due to the newly expanded appointment schedule.

UW-Madison reports nearly 1,400 COVID-related sanctions this school year

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Wisconsin State Journal

Messages sent to UW-Madison students last fall, like “Follow public health guidelines or risk suspension,” laid out the high stakes for students weighing whether to break COVID-19 rules. Disciplinary data show UW-Madison went to that extreme just once, suspending a single student last fall. The university sanctioned nearly 1,400 others for COVID-related public health violations so far this school year.

Spotlight dims on donor plasma treatment for COVID-19

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Wisconsin State Journal

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, UW Hospital joined select medical centers in treating severely ill patients with antibodies from donors who had recovered from infections, with five of the first six patients in Madison improving enough to be released from the hospital … But since late January, the spotlight on convalescent plasma has dimmed.

Best vaccine: How Pfizer became the “status” choice.

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Slate

As the vaccines have rolled out, many experts have strenuously rejected the idea that there’s any “best” vaccine. “The best vaccine is the one that goes in your arm,” said Mary Hayney, a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Pharmacy who researches vaccination. “I truly believe that there is not a big difference among the vaccines, or a discernable difference. Whatever one is offered to you, take it.” (Again, Hayney spoke to Slate before the latest J&J news.)

COVID-19 public health messages have been all over the place – but researchers know how to do better

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The Conversation

Persuading people to get a COVID-19 vaccine remains a challenge even as more than a 120 million people in the U.S. have received at least one dose.

Public health officials have struggled to find persuasive and accessible approaches throughout the pandemic, from explaining where COVID-19 originated to how the virus spreads among individuals, along with steps to prevent its transmission, its inequitable impacts on people’s lives, and now relevant risks and benefits information about vaccines.

-Dominique Brossard, Todd Newman, Emily Howell

Wisconsin Medical Leader: Rising Cases, Spikes In Surrounding States Are A ‘Warning Sign’

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WPR

Oguzhan Alagoz is a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor who studies infectious disease modeling. He agrees another surge in cases in Wisconsin would likely not be as bad as surges before vaccinations started.

“Even if we do see an increase in cases, as long as we vaccinate the vulnerable individuals, our hospitalization and deaths are not going to be as bad as what we have seen over the last several months,” Alagoz said.

Michigan is overwhelmed by another COVID-19 surge, this one driven by young people. Is Wisconsin next?

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quoted: “I think we’re all at the edge of our seat, fingers crossed we don’t experience that, but all the signs indicate that we could experience it,” said Ajay Sethi, an epidemiologist and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “We’re headed in the wrong direction.”

Although vaccines appear to be highly effective against new variants of COVID-19, not enough of the population is yet vaccinated to prevent a surge without other precautions, Sethi said.

Why covid arm and other post-vaccine rashes might actually be a ‘good thing’

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The Washington Post

“It doesn’t happen in the summer,” says Beth Drolet, professor and chair of dermatology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, who is studying the covid toe phenomenon. “The toes can stay blue for weeks, but eventually go back to normal.”

As the vaccine rollout accelerates this spring and summer, “we would expect to see a decrease in post vaccination covid toes,” says Lisa Arkin, director of pediatric dermatology at Wisconsin. “Covid toes are easily treatable with rewarming. They resolve spontaneously. Sometimes, we use topical medicines to treat inflammation in the skin.  Most patients experience mild swelling and itch, which resolves within days to weeks.”

UW schools won’t make students get COVID-19 vaccines, but if they get them, they’ll be exempt from continual testing

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

With college-age students now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, University of Wisconsin campuses have a new rule that leaders hope will encourage young adults to get their shots.

UW System interim President Tommy Thompson asked campus chancellors Wednesday to allow students who have gotten vaccinated against COVID-19 to be exempt from the weekly COVID-19 testing regimen.

“One of the inducements, encouragements to not to have to go through testing is to get vaccinated,” Thompson said.

New COVID-19 cases continue to tick in the wrong direction

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Noted: University of Wisconsin students who get their vaccines will be exempt from weekly testing requirements under new system guidance.

UW System interim President Tommy Thompson asked campus chancellors Wednesday to allow students who have gotten vaccinated against COVID-19 to be exempt from the weekly COVID-19 testing regimen.

“One of the inducements, encouragements to not to have to go through testing is to get vaccinated,” Thompson said.

NIH trial may settle debate over ivermectin as a covid-19 treatment

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The Washington Post

Previously, he (Pierre Kory) worked in the health system for the University of Wisconsin at Madison but left that job last May, he said, because his superiors refused to follow his recommendation that covid-19 patients be treated with steroids. That was a month before the first big clinical trial — the British Recovery trial — showed the value of the steroid dexamethasone. The health system declined to comment.

Efforts ramp up to vaccinate people of color against COVID-19 in Wisconsin

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

UW Health has had a few “vaccine racial equity days” at its Arboretum Clinic on South Park Street and plans to continue holding at least one a week, said Shiva Bidar-Sielaff, chief diversity officer. Groups representing communities of color invite people to come, and interpreters and printed materials in several languages are available, she said.

Some Are Hesitant To Get The COVID-19 Vaccine. Health Officials Hope Education Can Be Persuasive. | Wisconsin Public Radio

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WPR

The vaccines have been tested on tens of thousands of people in clinical trials, millions have been inoculated across the globe and complications have been rare. Still, there are those who are taking a wait-and-see approach, said Patrick Remington, former epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Preventive Medicine Residency program.

Coronavirus News Roundup, March 27–April 2

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Scientific American

Testing will remain crucial to this effort, and screening programs are starting to ramp up at re-opening schools and offices, the story states. Testing also will be important to determining how well the COVID-19 vaccines protect against variants of SARS-CoV-2, according to a University of Wisconsin, Madison, virologist quoted in the piece.

How Wisconsin turned around its lagging vaccination program — and buoyed a Biden health pick

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Washington Post

These factors make Wisconsin well-prepared for the next phase of its immunization campaign, as the challenge of insufficient supply gives way to issues of access and vaccine hesitancy, said Jonathan Temte, associate dean for public health and community engagement at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. That’s because a robust network of small and midsized providers allows tailored outreach to vulnerable or resistant groups.

Parents’ hesitancy could impede efforts to vaccinate school kids

Posted on
The Capital Times

UW epidemiologist Ajay Sethi calls the potential eligibility of 12- to 15-year-olds “a very important step to increase immunity to the virus in our community.” But he said it may take time to get some parents on board. Some, he said, will probably wait and see if the virus is under control in terms of infection rates before making a decision, and some may decide to vaccinate their children after more is known about the disease.

Wisconsin Republicans seek to prohibit so-called ‘vaccine passports’

Posted on
The Capital Times

Specifically, the language would prevent any mandates that individuals seeking state or governmental services, looking to gain access to a building, or aiming to participate in any government function show that they have been vaccinated against the coronavirus. It appears the language would apply to schools, the University of Wisconsin System and government-run nursing homes, to name a few.

Should College Students Be Prioritized for Covid-19 Vaccines Now?

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The Chronicle of Higher Education

Quoted: The known benefits of directly protecting vulnerable people outweigh those of indirectly protecting them through immunizing less at-risk community members, said R. Alta Charo, professor emerita of law and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. “While the data is showing good signs of reduced spread by vaccinated individuals, that data is still not as robust as the data demonstrating personal protection from being vaccinated,” she wrote in an email. Meanwhile, for high-risk individuals — “until they are vaccinated, they have limited ways to protect themselves.”