’We have the capacity to do these tests. So if you need a test, get a test,’ Wisconsin DHS secretary says.
UW COVID-19 testing sites extend services’ operation dates amid statewide testing decrease
Badger Herald
Category: Health
UW School of Medicine & Public Health sees ‘Fauci Effect’
WISC-TV 3
Dr. Mary McSweeney, the school’s assistant dean, calls it the ‘Fauci Effect’ or ‘Pothof Effect,’ named after Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert; and Dr. Jeff Pothof, UW Health’s Chief Quality Officer.
College Sports Has Reported at Least 6,629 Virus Cases
The New York Times
“We felt there was nothing to hide,” said Barry Alvarez, the athletic director at Wisconsin, which recorded at least 112 cases in athletics, missed back-to-back football games during an outbreak and had a third game canceled because of cases within Minnesota’s program. “We felt that it was in our best interest and everyone else’s best interest to put out accurate information, particularly if we had to cancel a game, so you wouldn’t have rumors or misinformation.”
Vaccinations could begin as soon as late next week at UW Health
WKOW-TV 27
Dr. Matt Anderson, Senior Medical Director of Primary Care at UW Health, expects the vaccine will start being administered late next week or the following week.
UW Health launches new COVID-19 treatments
NBC-15
The treatments aim to keep high-risk patients out of the hospital.
UW-Madison Chancellor Expects COVID-19 Restrictions To Remain For Spring Semester
Wisconsin Public Radio
University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank says students enrolling for the spring semester should expect continued restrictions on social gatherings and a mix of in-person and online classes due to COVID-19.
COVID-19 Was the Leading Cause of Death in 20 U.S. States Last Month
Newsweek
PHOTO: 15-minute rapid COVID-19 tests are administered, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison‘s campus on November 24, 2020 in Madison, Wisconsin.
UW Health to distribute and store Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
Daily Cardinal
The DHS plans to implement a hub-and-spoke model, where Pfizer vaccine doses will be stored in a central location like UW Health before being shipped to healthcare systems. The Pfizer vaccine requires storage in a facility that is colder than -94 degrees Fahrenheit.
Wisconsin expects first batch of COVID-19 vaccines soon, general public may not see it until mid-2021
Wisconsin State Journal
St. Mary’s Hospital and UW Health, both in Madison, will operate as regional distribution hubs for the Pfizer vaccine. “These vaccines will be going to frontline healthcare workers first, and there are still uncertainties around the quantities we’ll get and the timing of their arrival,” Matt Anderson, senior medical director of ambulatory operations with UW Health, said in a statement. “The public must remain diligent as it will not be widely available anytime soon.”
UW System extends COVID-19 testing until Christmas
WISC-TV 3
The University of Wisconsin System announced in a release today that they will operate their COVID-19 “surge testing” sites until at least Christmas, thanks to added support from the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
UW, SSM designated hubs for Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine distribution
WKOW-TV 27
When the vaccine is available, SSM Health, UW Health and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services will distribute it to health systems and long-term care facilities.
Gene Modification Treatments Could Delay Onset Of Huntington’s Disease
Wisconsin Public Radio
The average age of onset of Huntington’s disease is 39 years old, said Jane Paulsen, a research faculty member at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Neurology Department who is leading a study to determine if the disease can be prevented or delayed. Paulsen said she has seen cases of Huntington’s in people as young as 2 and as old as 82.
First-Year College Students Reflect On ‘Intense’ Pandemic Semester
Wisconsin Public Radio
University of Wisconsin System campuses are wrapping up their first full semester amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s been anything but normal, and for some first-year students, finding a sense of community on campus has been hampered by heavy restrictions on social gatherings. Mental health experts say that isolation is a problem and has contributed to a myriad of anxieties faced by students.
UW Health to serve as distribution hub for Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
WISC-TV 3
Even though the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine has yet to be given emergency authorization by the FDA, UW Health says it will serve as a regional distribution hub for the vaccine once it is approved.
UW Health designated a hub for Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine distribution
WKOW-TV 27
“We are proud to play a role in helping our partners in the area get vaccine doses they need to protect their frontline workers as fast as possible so we can get on to the next group of people to be vaccinated,” said Matt Anderson, senior medical director ambulatory operations, UW Health.
UW Health to serve as central hub for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine
NBC-15
If approved, the vaccine is still months away from widespread distribution.
Research inspired by COVID-19: ‘COVID toes’ likely a sign of successful viral response
The Capital Times
Over a few weeks, there was nearly a 300% increase of patients in Wisconsin exhibiting the condition compared to 2019, said Lisa Arkin, director of pediatric dermatology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Trends were similar across the United States. “This was a real pivot because there aren’t so many dermatologists doing COVID-19 research,” Arkin said. “Suddenly, in the spring, there was an avalanche of patients, many of whom had had symptoms for several weeks.”
UW Health pushing back some appointments
WISC-TV 3
The latest spike in COVID cases may mean you won’t see your doctor soon — at least not face-to-face.
UW Health evaluates if primary care appointments can be postponed
NBC-15
UW Health implemented a new emergency surge plan Thursday, including evaluating if some primary care appointments can be postponed until the spring of 2021.
Nursing schools readying next generation of health care workers
NBC-15
“I think everybody knows being able to graduate the nursing students in the middle of a pandemic is critically important to make sure that we have the workforce that we need,” said Barabara Pinekenstein, the Interim Associate Dean of Academic Affairs for UW-Madison School of Nursing.
UW Alumni, faculty doctors talk COVID-19 and vaccine
Daily Cardinal
In a lecture hosted by the Wisconsin Alumni Association on Tuesday, UW-Madison faculty Dr. James Conway, R. Alta Charo and Dr. Jonathan Temte discussed a source of hope during the COVID-19 pandemic: the newly created COVID-19 vaccine.
Behind the frontlines: A glimpse inside University Hospital’s COVID unit
NBC-15
Doctors and nurses are working around the clock fighting to keep covid-19 patients alive as cases climb in the Badger State.
UW Madison to continue rapid antigen testing, appointments available
NBC-15
As the demand for COVID19 testing in Dane County continues to surge, the free public testing site at UW Madison will remain open for most of this month.
Free COVID-19 testing continues on UW-Madison campus
WISC-TV 3
UW-Madison officials are reminding people that they are continuing to provide free COVID-19 testing on campus.
UW Health opens new COVID-19 testing site on Madison’s east side
WKOW-TV 27
The new site is located at 3819 John Wall Drive. It will take over the COVID-19 testing that is currently being done of symptomatic patients, pre-surgical patients, and UW Health employees at an outdoor site on Madison’s west side.
How US Hospitals Are Stretched Way Too Thin Due to Covid-19
The New York Times
When Ms. Fine went to UW Health’s University Hospital in Madison, she found doctors there overwhelmed and distracted. “They just parked me in a hallway because there was no place for me to go,” said Ms. Fine, 61, who was eventually found to have a severe bout of shingles that threatened her eyes.
For First Time In Months, Wisconsin’s COVID-19 Cases Are Declining. Experts Say It May Not Last.
Wisconsin Public Radio
Before Thanksgiving, Wisconsin was “at least leveling out, maybe trending down a little bit on some of the measures we look at,” said Dr. Jeffrey Pothof, the chief quality officer for UW Health. It would have been too soon to know if the state’s outbreak had begun to recede, but there was data suggesting that was possible.
As COVID-19 vaccine nears, Wisconsin looks at how to divvy up first doses
Wisconsin State Journal
Dr. Jonathan Temte, associate dean of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Social Vulnerability Index gives some priority to rural areas. The index includes socioeconomic status, minority population, housing, transportation and other factors.
Holiday air travel surges despite dire health warnings
AP
Previous holidays including Memorial Day, July 4 and Labor Day were followed by increases in new cases. David O’Connor, a virologist at the University of Wisconsin who has studied the role of travel in the pandemic, expects the same thing to happen after Thanksgiving and leading up to Christmas.
For First Time In Months, Wisconsin’s COVID-19 Cases Are Declining. Experts Say It May Not Last.
Wisconsin Public Radio
That’s what Ajay Sethi is expecting. The epidemiologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health said the data in the next two weeks will likely tell us where Wisconsin will stand a month from now. He isn’t optimistic.
Fears of coronavirus jump intensify in Thanksgiving’s aftermath
The Washington Post
Days after millions of Americans ignored health guidance to avoid travel and large Thanksgiving gatherings, it’s still too soon to tell how many people became infected with the coronavirus over the course of the holiday weekend. But as travelers head home to communities already hit hard by the disease, hospitals and health officials across the country are bracing for what scientist Dave O’Connor called “a surge on top of a surge.”
“It is painful to watch,” said O’Connor, a virologist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. “Like seeing two trains in the distance and knowing they’re about to crash, but you can’t do anything to stop it.”
Health Experts Ask People To Avoid In-Person Black Friday Shopping As Spread Of COVID-19 Remains High
Wisconsin Public Radio
Malia Jones researches how our social environment affects our health as a social epidemiologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Applied Population Laboratory. She also serves as the editor in chief of Dear Pandemic, an interdisciplinary group of all-female researchers and clinicians who create fact-based social media content about COVID-19.
Midwest has yet to see peak of latest COVID-19 surge, experts fear
Washington Examiner
“I think it is premature to feel that we turned the corner until we see at least a week or two to have sort of [a] decline,” said Dr. Oguzhan Alagoz, an expert in healthcare analytics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
‘To beat this virus, we have to be united’: Chaos and resistance to COVID-19 measures hinder Wisconsin’s response
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Quoted: 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, said the best approach to tackling the massive outbreak is working together.
“To beat this virus, we have to be united in response,” he said.
UW-Health to Wisconsinites: ‘Our only hope right now is you’
Daily Cardinal
The letter stressed that “Wisconsin is in a bad place right now with no sign of things getting better without action. We are, quite simply, out of time … As health care providers, we are terrified of that becoming reality.”
Heed UW Health’s urgent call to action — John Finkler
Wisconsin State Journal
Letter to the editor: With the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, their open letter really said it all about the current COVID-19 emergency situation in Wisconsin. It said so clearly what people need to do to help and make a difference. Immediately.
Thousands of UW employees ask for urgent call to action
WISC-TV 3
If you get the Wisconsin State Journal Sunday mornings, you saw a large open letter signed by thousands of UW Health employees. This is what it looks like, urging Wisconsin families to get through the pandemic. Dr. Ann Sheehy explains.
UW Health, Meriter to begin use of investigational COVID-19 therapy
WKOW-TV 27
UW Health and UnityPoint Health–Meriter have received a limited supply (116 doses) of bamlanivimab, an investigational therapy for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adult and pediatric patients.
AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is 70% effective on average, data show
STAT News
“The top line is this is more great news,” said Dave O’Connor, a vaccinologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who is a volunteer in the AstraZeneca trial. (He believes he received the placebo, because he had no side effects after either dose.)
Students going home for Thanksgiving could bring Covid with them
The Guardian
Luke Carmosino, a junior at University of Wisconsin–Madison, is flying home to Irvington, New York, for Thanksgiving. Carmosino tested positive for the virus in September and said he has little concerns about re-contracting the virus. He plans to follow the protocols New York state has set up for incoming travelers, which entails two tests – one before arrival and one four days after – along with a mandatory quarantine period. If a person has a negative test taken after their fourth day of quarantine, they can exit quarantine.
‘Not sure how long we can hold the line’: With hospitals full, doctors and scientists beg Wisconsinites to stay home for Thanksgiving
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The scale of the pandemic is straining health care systems in Wisconsin so badly that even large hospitals like UW Health University Hospital in Madison are nearly full, said Jeff Pothof, a physician and chief quality officer at UW Health … “Early on, we managed the surge, we had contingency plans, we were keeping up,” said Pothof. “But now we’re getting towards the end of that book. If we get there, we don’t have anything magic. We don’t have anything else left up our sleeve.”
Thanksgiving marks a mass exodus of college students leaving campuses like UW Madison
The Washington Post
The university had a rocky start to the semester as viral cases spiked in early September. The school imposed a temporary quarantine on two large dorms and paused face-to-face teaching for two weeks. Those measures, coupled with ramped-up viral testing, helped stabilize operations, said Rebecca Blank, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison. In all, the university counts more than 4,200 positive viral tests among its students since the summer and more than 370 among employees. Those cases have led to one hospitalization, officials say, and no deaths. The university has set aside rooms in hotels and dorms to isolate those in campus housing who get infected and quarantine those who may have been exposed to the virus.
Tested Negative For COVID-19? Here’s What You Need To Know
Wisconsin Public Radio
Jonathan Temte, associate dean for public health and community engagement at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, said lab tests are imperfect, and there are factors people should consider before making the assumption that a negative result means they’re safe to be around others.
UW encourages students to reduce travel, stay home until spring semester
The Capital Times
As students leave campus for Thanksgiving break, the University of Wisconsin-Madison is encouraging them to stay at their permanent residences through the remainder of the semester and winter break.
UW Health issues open letter pleading for the state’s residents to take the pandemic seriously
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
UW Health issued an open letter Sunday pleading with the state’s residents to take the COVID-19 pandemic seriously to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed and the number of deaths from soaring.
Thousands of UW Health employees urge people to follow coronavirus guidelines in open letter to Wisconsin
WISC-TV 3
In the letter, employees called Wisconsin family, saying that “sometimes you have to have hard conversations with your family,” and “like many families facing a crisis, we can rally together and take action to get through this one.”
Thousands of UW Health faculty, staff issue open letter to Wisconsin “family”
NBC-15
“Wisconsin is in a bad place right now with no sign of things getting better without action,” the letter reads. “We are, quite simply, out of time. Without immediate change, our hospitals will be too full to treat all of those with the virus and those with other illnesses or injuries.”
Hershey Bears video coach Emily Engel-Natzke breaks barriers in hockey
The Washington Post
The Bears, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Capitals, announced her hire without any “first” caveats, but Emily knew the weight it carried. She had worked for years under Tony Granato as an assistant for the University of Wisconsin men’s hockey team. Now, she will finally get her shot.
Americans flock for Covid-19 tests ahead of Thanksgiving
Financial Times
Over the next week, more than 100,000 students in the State University of New York system will get tested for coronavirus. At Harvard, thousands more will do the same, as will students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Michigan.
UW Health opens COVID-19 unit on east side; American Family Children’s Hospital to house adult patients
WISC-TV 3
The health system said the American Family Children’s Hospital is not expanding to house COVID-19 patients, but will instead admit adult patients to create more space at University Hospital.
UW Health opens new COVID unit at The American Center; admits some adult patients at children’s hospital
WKOW-TV 27
A UW Health spokesperson tells 27 News the new COVID unit at The American Center (TAC) is for patients who need general care. They are sick enough to be admitted to a hospital, but do not usually require a ventilator or admission to an ICU.
New COVID-19 study tracks the virus in real time on UW-Madison campus
NBC-15
The study is led by Jonathan Temte, a professor and dean in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. Temte and his team test people even when they do not show any symptoms. The team hopes by focusing on asymptomatic people, they can prevent more infections.
How To Have A Meaningful Holiday Season When You Can’t Gather In Person
Wisconsin Public Radio
Skipping those beloved traditions and not celebrating with family members and loved ones adds stress to what has already been a difficult year, said Shilagh Mirgain, a distinguished psychologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health.
Should college students get a COVID-19 test before heading home for the holidays? Some schools urge or even require it, but ‘it doesn’t give you a free pass’
Chicago Tribune
Dr. Jeffrey Pothof, an emergency medicine physician and chief quality officer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s health system, said exit testing can be helpful as long as students understand the limitations, stressing that a negative result “doesn’t give you a free pass” to act recklessly.
Students should take other preventive actions to avoid spreading the virus over the holidays. That means limiting social activity with groups, wearing face coverings and social distancing as much as possible, Pothof and others said.
UW Health shares quarantine and isolation recommendations
WISC-TV 3
UW Health is sharing more recommendations for safely quarantining today.
UW Health explains how to effectively quarantine, isolate
NBC-15
UW Health says quarantining is usually recommended in cases where someone may have been exposed to COVID-19. Isolating is recommended when someone already has a positive COVID-19 diagnosis and must stay away from people.
Convalescent plasma donors needed as demand reaches new heights
NBC-15
UW-Health said at the moment, they have enough convalescent plasma to cover their current needs. “We’re managing as well as anyone can expect,” William Hartman, UW-Health principal investigator of covid-19 clinical trials said.
‘We’re going to be in trouble’: Wisconsin critically short on plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Early results from a clinical trial at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in July showed the plasma helped 94% of patients who were considered severely ill avoid having to go to intensive care or being placed on mechanical ventilation.
COVID-19 on campus: Midwest colleges, universities look to contain outbreaks
Wisconsin State Journal
Some universities in particularly hard-hit communities may be asking students who go home this month not to return until January. One of those is Wisconsin’s flagship university, the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
‘Unprecedented’ pace of COVID-19 drug development pushing Madison companies to expand
Wisconsin State Journal
FluGen, which has been working with research from UW-Madison for years on developing a universal flu vaccine — one that wouldn’t have to be updated each year, as the flu shot is now — is incorporating a coronavirus vaccine into its plans, though president and CEO Paul Radspinner said there is no timeline for getting the vaccine to human studies as of yet.