According to new numbers released by the hospital Tuesday, UW Health has only found that single case of the more common flus that typically roll through this time of year.
UW Health has only recorded 1 case of the flu
NBC-15
Category: Health
UW Health says more doses & approved vaccines needed to speed up process
NBC-15
“Realistically, we’re looking at several months here just to get through them. We have to do second doses as well, so it is going to take some time. We appreciate everybody being patient, but our hope is that we’re going to see the capacity from the manufacturing side of things really speed up and then we’ll have the most efficient distribution process possible,” says Dr. Matt Anderson, UW Health’s Senior Medical Director of Primary Care.
UW nursing, pharmacy students join effort to bring vaccines to rural areas
The Capital Times
Over 200 University of Wisconsin nursing and pharmacy students have volunteered to help administer COVID-19 vaccines at statewide mobile clinics in local high-need areas.
The Wisconsin advisory panel that decides who’s next in line for the vaccine will ‘pause’ to wait for Biden’s strategy
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Quoted: Committee co-chairman Jonathan Temte of the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health said the committee will break because it will take months to distribute vaccine shots to everyone eligible in phases underway.
Jim Conway, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Global Health Institute who is a member of the panel, said during the meeting he was concerned about the effect of the break on the subcommittee members’ ability to provide information to the health care community and others about the status of the rollout.
“Now that we’re on this committee (many of us) are sort of viewed as sources of information for a lot of the people around the state and a lot of organizations and it’s been incredibly beneficial to be part of these conversations to be able to help shed some light on these things,” Conway said. “I’m a little concerned if we’re going to take a long pause that we won’t continue to be able to be those resources for others, so I do wonder where things are, what we know about how the distribution is going and if there is anything that we can offer.”
Temte agreed, saying, “At the end of the day we serve at the pleasure of the Secretary or Acting Secretary so if our efforts, skills, knowledge and opinions are of value, I think we stand ready to come back.”
UW Health tool prioritizes who gets COVID-19 vaccine first within health system
Badger Herald
’I’m glad we took equity into account when doing the vaccine rollout,’ UW Health Medical Director says.
‘They have the skills and are ready to go’: College health care students step up to help massive COVID-19 vaccine effort.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Quoted: “Think about it — our hospitals and clinics are near capacity because we have a heavy caseload of COVID right now,” said Mary Hayney, a pharmacy professor at UW-Madison.
“We need to find other people to … administer vaccines to the public. So students are a resource that can be tapped to do that because they have the skills and are ready to go,” she said.
When will day-to-day life resemble life before the coronavirus pandemic?
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Quoted: “There is always a chance that in the future another new variant might emerge, and we would have to check again whether the vaccine can be effective against that new variant,” said Ajay Sethi, an epidemiologist and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
When the doctor is the patient: UW Health cardiologist gets rare heart-kidney transplant
Wisconsin State Journal
Wolff, 60, received a heart and a kidney from the same deceased donor at UW Hospital in October. He was one of five people to get the double transplant at UW last year, a record.
1 year since UW treated first case of coronavirus in WI
WKOW-TV 27
Dr. Jeff Pothof, chief quality officer, says the UW team took appropriate isolation precautions at the time, but still had no idea what was to come.
UW announces it will monitor new COVID strain found in Wisconsin
Daily Cardinal
UW-Madison announced Friday that it is watching for the new variant of the COVID-19 virus that originated in the United Kingdom after the Wisconsin Department of Health Services announced that strain had been found in Wisconsin last month.
UW discovery changes current understanding of insulin pathway
Badger Herald
University of Wisconsin researchers and their collaborators at Yale published findings in early November which changed current understandings of the way cells in the pancreas regulate the release of insulin, UW announced in a press release.
Local health experts reflect on one year of COVID-19 in the US
WKOW-TV 27
UW-Madison brought together experts for a panel — many of them were part of a panel on the virus one year ago. Wisconsin Department of Health Services Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ryan Westergaard said he was inspired by the willingness of volunteers, scholars and researchers to support the state’s public health mission.
UW Health resumes plan for $348 million clinic on Madison’s Far East Side
Wisconsin State Journal
UW Health is resuming plans to build a six-story clinic next to its hospital on Madison’s Far East Side, restarting a project put on hold last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic and related financial losses.
U.S. Covid-19 Metrics Continue to Fall, But Variants, Reopenings Create New Hurdles
The Wall Street Journal
Quoted: “Now is not the time to loosen restrictions but rather double-down on our mitigation efforts and ramp up vaccine rollout,” Ajay Sethi, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. “Other new variants will inevitably emerge if we allow the coronavirus to spread uncontrollably.”
Young People Spreading Covid a Concern in Rapidly Aging Japan
Bloomberg
Noted: One way to appeal to youth on Covid-19 is by placing the wellbeing of their social group on their shoulders, said Dominique Brossard, a professor specializing in science communication at University of Wisconsin at Madison.
She pointed to the decades-old “Friends don’t let friends drink and drive” slogan in the U.S. as one successful campaign that helped lower incidence of youth drunk-driving. Simply relaying information about the virus may have limited effectiveness with the younger generation, who are accustomed to being bombarded with a constant stream of content.
How Laura Albert Helped Make Election Day in Wisconsin Safer Amid the Pandemic
American Association for the Advancement of Science
When public servants face a challenge, AAAS Member and newly elected 2020 AAAS Fellow Dr. Laura Albert finds solutions. Whether helping police tackle the opioid crisis, or assisting election officials in protecting voters during a deadly pandemic — which was one of her most recent feats — the University of Wisconsin-Madison professor uses mathematical models and analytics to recommend safe, economical and often innovative remedies.
‘It’s a Very Tough Job’: In Rural Wisconsin, a Struggle to Save Family Farms and a Way of Life
Frontline
Quoted: Melissa Kono is an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who works in community development and is raising a family on a farm. “Work-life balance,” she said, is not a farming staple.
After getting placebo in vaccine trial, medical reporter opts for the real thing — and wrestles with his decisio
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Noted: Arriving in my inbox at 7:50 a.m. on Jan. 21 was an email that I anxiously had been anticipating. It was from the University of Wisconsin Madison doctor who is running UW’s clinical trial of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine. I, along with 460 volunteers, had been making monthly appearances at UW Hospital to provide blood samples and to get two shots spaced a month apart.
Nearly one year since first COVID-19 case at UW Hospital
WISC-TV 3
It has been nearly a year since UW Health saw its first patient who tested positive for COVID-19. Now UW Health is looking back on its progress when it comes to COVID-19.
UW discusses lessons learned from the pandemic
WISC-TV 3
Saturday will mark the one-year anniversary of the first known COVID case here in Wisconsin. Today, a panel of experts at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health reflected on the lessons learned over the past year.
Assembly Republicans to take up resolution that would make Wisconsin one of few states without face mask mandate
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“President Thompson is and has been focused on strategies to combat COVID-19 on UW System campuses given their inherent congregate settings,” Mark Pitsch, spokesman for the UW System, said. “He has championed a culture of responsibility that includes wearing a mask, social distancing, hand washing and a robust testing strategy.”
COVID-19 spread without symptoms a key lesson learned a year into pandemic
Wisconsin State Journal
“I don’t think that any of us really anticipated the extent to which asymptomatic transmission would play a role,” Dr. Nasia Safdar, medical director of infection control at UW Hospital, said Wednesday during an online panel discussion reflecting on the pandemic a year after it began.
One year later: Medical experts to reconvene for COVID-19 panel
NBC-15
The UW School of Medicine and Public Health organized the panel last year with professionals ranging from a variety of fields, including virology, infection control and vaccine development.
Nearly one year since first COVID-19 case at UW Hospital
WISC-TV 3
It has been nearly a year since UW Health saw its first patient who tested positive for COVID-19. Now UW Health is looking back on its progress when it comes to COVID-19.
Studies note skyrocketing screen time for children, families
NBC-15
According to UW Health, the good news is that children may be excited to pull away from their screens as the consequences of the pandemic lessen. “We know that while the pandemic has had a huge affect on this cohort and this generation, we also know that they’re going to be coming out of it together and probably very eager to connect and very eager to kind of catch up on those social skills if you will,” said Dr. Megan Moreno.
The Vaccine Rollout Will Take Time. Here’s What The U.S. Can Do Now To Save Lives
Wisconsin Public Radio
Dr. Patrick Remington, a professor emeritus in the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, previously worked as an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He says a career spent studying public health policy has taught him that laws are typically only effective for the people already inclined to follow a given health recommendation, like wearing seat belts in cars or not smoking indoors.
UW Campuses Significantly Expanding COVID-19 Testing This Spring, Though Strategies Vary
Wisconsin Public Radio
University of Wisconsin System campuses are planning to significantly increase COVID-19 testing during the spring semester. But many students at UW-Madison will be tested twice as often as those at the state’s 25 other universities and branch campuses. In addition, new federal research shows tests used to detect outbreaks at UW System’s other 25 campuses are more likely to miss positive cases than the type of tests being used at the state’s flagship university.
Wisconsin’s COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout Has Been Rough. Will New Plans Turn That Around?
Wisconsin Public Radio
“It’s really complicated to go from zero to 100 mph and be writing the rules as you go,” 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.
UW-Madison says 1,800 members of campus community qualify in next round of vaccines
WISC-TV 3
With people over the age of 65 becoming eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine starting next week, UW-Madison says it’s notified about 1,800 members of their campus community to make appointments.
Altered Vaccine Data Exposes Critical Cyber Risks
The Wall Street Journal
Quoted: Dietram Scheufele, the Taylor-Bascom chair in science communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that scientists already must counter misinformation on Covid-19 vaccines. Manipulated data only makes that job harder, he said.
“It’s probably the worst possible time to deal with something like this,” he said.
UW-Madison ramps up saliva-based COVID-19 testing on campus to quell any potential outbreaks
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Officials at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have launched their new saliva-based COVID-19 testing program which, once in full swing next week, will take the campus from conducting around 12,000 tests per week to 82,000.
Republicans propose making vaccine available to everyone by mid-March, bar prioritizing prisoners
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Quoted: Committee co-chairman Dr. Jonathan Temte of the University of Wisconsin-Madison agreed.
“Our recommendation should be based on the scientific evidence, the ethical pinnings, and the feasibility,” Temte said. “And on all three accounts, one would say, absolutely. If we are saying we’re going to punish these people yet again — because they are being punished for their crimes at this point in time — this constitutes kind of a double punishment and treating them very, very differently and I’m very uncomfortable with that.”
UW-Madison asks for patience as new COVID-19 testing program comes with learning curve
Wisconsin State Journal
In one of the first campus-wide emails of the new year, UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank shared some new, slightly odd wisdom for the semester ahead: “Pool your drool.”
UW grad shares COVID experience in New York, 1 year after nation’s first confirmed case
WKOW-TV 27
Oak was finishing up her time at UW-Madison, working to become a physical therapist. She was completing a rotation at the time in New Orleans, Louisiana — a week before moving to New York.
We’re not gonna take it: The COVID-19 vaccine is here, along with efforts to overcome skepticism
The Capital Times
“We really need to come together to combat this,” said Dr. Jasmine Zapata, pediatrician and public health strategist with the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. “And just like masks, social distancing and good handwashing are part of the solution, getting as many people vaccinated as possible is part of the solution.”
UW Health launches COVID-19 vaccine waitlist for seniors
WKOW-TV 27
Those who have a primary care physician with UW Health can complete this COVID-19 vaccine waitlist form.
UW Health launches website for seniors looking to get vaccinated
NBC-15
With the Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services determining all senior citizens in the state would be eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine as soon as next week, UW Health has launched a webpage to offer more information on how it will work and to join a waitlist to be vaccinated.
So You’ve Been Diagnosed With COVID-19. What Next?
Wisconsin Public Radio
Staying in separate rooms and using separate bathrooms, when possible, helps prevent household transmission, said Dr. Nasia Safdar, medical director for infection prevention at UW Hospitals and Clinics in Madison.
COVID-19 vaccine requirements not likely as Madison area businesses balance public health, liability
Wisconsin State Journal
Though the law allows employers to mandate vaccines, UW-Madison professor emerita of law and bioethics Alta Charo said requiring employees to get the shot could lead to pushback from employees who might get vaccinated on their own but bristle at the mandate. “In the history of public health, we have frequently seen that voluntary compliance winds up more successful at the end than mandates,” Charo said.
UW Health wraps up vaccine trial enrollment
WISC-TV 3
UW Health’s AstraZeneca vaccine trial enrollment ended Friday evening. Now, those leading the trial will compile the data and eventually submit their findings to the FDA.
Meet the UW Pharmacy students helping bring COVID vaccines across the state
WKOW-TV 27
“We call it Operation Immunization,” said Maggie Hoernke, a third-year PharmD student at UW-Madison. She, along with second-year PharmD student Nikki Batterman, co-chair the outreach program on Immunizations for the UW student organization, Wisconsin Society of Pharmacy Students.
New Hampshire man receives life-saving organ transplant at UW Health
NBC-15
UW Health’s transplant program is nationally recognized. “It has grown to be one of the largest multi transplant programs in the country,” said Dr. Dixon Kaufman, Medical Director for UW Health’s Transplant Center.
UW Health ‘Miracle Baby’ meets one-year milestone after liver transplant
NBC-15
Jenny Hougom gave birth to her son Lucas in August of 2019, according to a news release. He was quickly diagnosed with congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV), which is a rare virus in newborns that attacks the liver.
Wisconsin Sees First Case Of U.K. Based Strain Of COVID-19
WORT FM
Quoted: Dr. David O’Connor is a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at UW-Madison’s school of Medicine and Public Health, where he runs a lab studying viral infections. Speaking with WORT, O’Connor said it’s common for viruses to mutate as they find new hosts.
“The genetic material for the coronavirus is called RNA, and when RNA makes copies of itself, sometimes those copies are sloppy, and a mistake gets made,” O’Connor said.
The Associated Press and other news outlets have focused on the fact the B.1.1.7 strain appears to transmit between people more quickly than other strains. Dr. Thomas Friedrich, who studies diseases and immune systems at UW-Madison, shares this same suspicion.
“This variant does appear to be more contagious, more transmissible between people, about one and half times as transmissible as previous strains. So, that’s concerning to us because it means that virus might spread a bit easier, and might be a little harder to control,” Friedrich said.
Sodium substitutions
Meat & Poultry
Quoted: “In meat systems, permeate can be used to reduce the amount of sodium, enhance browning, protect color, mask bitter flavors and improve structure formation,” said Susan Larson, associate researcher, University of Wisconsin-Madison, for the US Dairy Export Council, Arlington, Va. “The lactose in permeate also provides a carbohydrate that could replace a portion of the sugar in a fermented sausage.”
What’s the protocol for creating a healthy new human when you subtract Earth from the equation?
Neo.Life
Noted: Scientists at the University of Wisconsin Madison are blasting bacteria with high doses of ionizing radiation to watch them evolve radiation resistance in real time and study which genes are involved.
If You Have These Conditions, Your COVID Vaccine May Be Less Effective
Best Life
Noted: According to a Jan. 6 preprint of a study conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, if you develop a fever while you have COVID, you may be immune to COVID for a longer period of time.
“Such an inflammatory response may be key for developing a strong anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody response,” according to the study’s authors. And if you want to stay safe, These 3 Things Could Prevent Almost All COVID Cases, Study Finds.
Wisconsin residents 65 and older could be in next phase of COVID-19 vaccinations
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Quoted: But fellow co-chairman Dr. Jonathan Temte, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said politics shouldn’t play a role in public health decision-making.
“It is our purview to make whatever we think is the best recommendation,” he said. “I don’t think it’s ethically acceptable to say we’re going to do congregate living but exclude the incarcerated, because by definition, that’s congregate living.”
Some Wisconsin hospitals are offering vaccines to staff who don’t take care of patients
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Quoted: In Florida, for example, a nursing home offered vaccines to members of its board and major donors, the Washington Post reported.
But that doesn’t seem to be the norm, said Ajay Sethi, an infectious disease expert with the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He said the top concern should be that no doses go to waste.
“It’s far better to get a shot in somebody’s arm than throw it out. Throwing it out is a complete tragedy,” Sethi said.
“If it’s happening to the point where the original plans are being abandoned, then I think that would be an issue,” Sethi added. “But I don’t think we’re at that stage right now.”
Quoted: “What we’ve heard more and more is that there are organizations that end up with unfilled slots in their immunization schedules who would like to reach out to members that would technically be in that next (rollout) group,” said Dr. Jim Conway, a professor of pediatrics at UW-Madison.
Captive gorillas test positive for coronavirus
Science
“The fact that gorillas are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 should come as no surprise,” says disease ecologist Tony Goldberg of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. “Fortunately, gorillas at zoos have excellent medical care, and most will likely pull through due to the efforts of dedicated veterinarians. That’s not the case for gorillas in the wild, though.”
What We Know (And Don’t) About The New Virus Variant
WABE
Thomas Friedrich, professor of virology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says a new, more transmissible variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 could have big implications for the pandemic in the U.S. if its starts spreading widely in the country.
Forget Memory, Try Imagination: A Social Innovator Takes On Dementia
Forbes
In general, there’s an age bias in philanthropy. Everyone wants to fund youth innovation. It is seen as the most important investment in the future, with long returns. I would add that if we’re not disrupting ageism, we’re harming young people by shortening their lives. You can do intergenerational work, bringing young and old to create together, and everyone benefits.
Anne Basting is founder of TimeSlips; an Ashoka Fellow; a professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison; and a MacArthur Fellow. Her latest book is Creative Care: A Revolutionary Approach to Dementia and Elder Care.
College openings led to increase in community cases, research says
Inside Higher Education
At the University of Wisconsin at Madison, a spokesperson noted that COVID-19 cases rose in every county in the state following Sept. 1, when students came to campus. “As cases of COVID-19 continue at high levels across Wisconsin, UW-Madison remains committed to doing its part to keep transmission low,” the spokesperson said via email. “Despite a rise in cases early in the fall semester — caught and contained quickly thanks to robust testing and rapid efforts to isolate positive students and quarantine those at risk of exposure — campus experienced a low level of cases after the third week of September.” The university also provided 20,000 free tests to the general public.
‘The choice is ours’: Panel discusses COVID-19 and schools
The Capital Times
“The choice is ours,” said Dr. Dipesh Navsaria, associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. “It’s ours as a population, as a country, as a community … Navsaria was joined on the Wisconsin Health News panel by UW-Madison epidemiologist Malia Jones, La Crosse School district superintendent Aaron Engel and Eau Claire City-County Health Department director Lieske Giese.
Cooking solo, by choice or circumstance, has several delicious advantages during COVID crisis
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Noted: Jasinski, the eldest of eight children, was raised in a Milwaukee family that canned fresh produce by the bushel. Now she flies solo in Madison and is catering manager at University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Wisconsin Union.
CDC study finds quick, cheap antigen tests used on most UW campuses have limits, but remain useful in broad COVID-19 effort
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
A new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study has found that the quick test used by UW campuses to regularly test students missed about 1 in 5 positive cases for people who have symptoms.
Who should get COVID-19 vaccine next? A state committee debates
Wisconsin State Journal
Dr. Jonathan Temte, co-chair of the subcommittee and former chair of the CDC advisory committee, said that if disabled people who live in group homes are prioritized, inmates should be too because both live in congregate settings. “I think we should be unwilling to decouple those,” said Temte, associate dean of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.
UW Hospital set transplant records in 2020 despite COVID-19
Wisconsin State Journal
Arecord 548 patients got organ transplants at UW Hospital last year, including a record 315 people who received kidneys, even though the COVID-19 pandemic led doctors to shut down elements of the transplant program for parts of the year.
UW prepares to ramp up testing capacity with smartphone app, 12 new testing locations
The Capital Times
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is gearing up to drastically expand testing for spring semester, with more rigorous requirements, 14 testing locations and a mandatory smartphone app.
The Best Evidence for How to Overcome COVID Vaccine Fears
Scientific American
The gradual and very public rollout of the new vaccines provides the opportunity to make vaccination for COVID a new norm—something that everyone will be doing. Studies show people make choices such as buying flood insurance or solar panels for their home because their neighbors have done so, “and the exact same thing is true for vaccinations,” observes Dietram Scheufele, a professor of life sciences communication at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He and Milkman think it might be a good idea to hand out stickers that say, “I got vaccinated,” much like the “I voted” stickers used to propel people to the polls, or to do the digital equivalent with a Facebook profile filter. If celebrities and sports stars join the trend, so much the better.