A published study by the University of Virginia investigating antibodies and herd immunity found Hispanic participants had the highest rate of exposure to COVID-19. The report references “Latinx individuals have been reported to account for a disproportionate number of COVID-19 cases, including in Virginia, in which they account for 33.8% of cases but only 9% [of the population].”
Dr. Bill Petri, a UVA infectious diseases professor, and others are studying the impacts of COVID-19. “Having additional vaccines is always a good thing,” Petri said. His team is in the process of creating a COVID-19 vaccine that’s not a shot, but rather a spray.
Epidemiologists at UVA’s Biocomplexity Institute outlined three potential scenarios for the upcoming months, taking the variants into account.
For students who don’t test well, the pandemic proved a blessing as most colleges and universities announced they would not require SAT or ACT scores. At UVA, Dean of Undergraduate Admission Greg Roberts thinks that’s behind a 17% increase in the number of applicants.
Valencia Robin’s poems often connect her life to larger moments in American history. “I never set out to write about history or current events; I begin with my own lived experience and it’s through that experience that I connect to our country’s broader narrative,” the Charlottesville-based poet said during a recent interview. So if she’d been living anywhere else in the country, it’s doubtful that she would have written a poem about August 2017.
In the last few years, several economists who should have won the Nobel Prize have passed away. The most egregious omission, in some economists’ opinion, is former UVA fauclty member Gordon Tullock, who was born today in 1922 in Rockford, Illinois, and who passed away on Nov. 3, 2014.
The Carson Raymond Foundation says that in less than two weeks, it raised $25,000 to help Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville to build the Five Pillars Park in the Southwood community. The foundation thanks the many donors who helped make this possible, including University of Virginia men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett and his wife Laurel, who matched $5,000 raised.
For Gillian Frank, it’s time for Jewish people to start thinking about how their religion relates to their personal sexuality. “I sort of joked with us privately, but I will say that perhaps it’s time – in our investigations into the history of sexuality – to consider what it means to be Jewish both in the sheets and in the streets,” Frank, a postdoctoral fellow in American studies at UVA, said. Frank was one of the three featured speakers at the “Sexing American Jewish History” panel, which Pitt’s Jewish Studies program hosted last Friday via Zoom.
February is American Heart Month and a UVA cardiologist shares tips on how you can combat heart problems.. “Diet and exercise. When it comes to diet, avoid high-fat foods, reduce salt intake and cut back on calories. The second thing is exercise. What we recommend is 150 minutes of moderate exercise,” said Dr. Michael Ayers.
The researchers noted wide variations in screening across states, but they said across-the-board declines were evident beginning in 2010, marking a “worrisome consequence that needs attention.” Dr. Robert Dreicer, deputy director of the UVA Cancer Center, agreed, noting in a press statement that the findings suggest reduced PSA screening may come at the cost of more men presenting with metastatic disease. “Patients should discuss the risks and benefits associated with PSA screening with their doctor to identify the best approach for them,” Dreicer said.
Although he came in a distant second in the Democratic caucus, Biden won Nevada in 2020, and if he runs for re-election in 2024, he’ll want to hold on to the state. UVA Center for Politics Director Larry Sabato counted the ways of mutual love: Nevada’s two senators, three out of four House members and the governor are all Democrats. Then there’s Harry Reid, the former Nevada senator who served as majority leader and had the ear of President Barack Obama. Reid also has a decades-long connection with Biden from their mutual service in the Senate. “As long as Reid is around, Nevada is going to be...
(Commentary by Barbara D. Boyan, Alice T. and William H. Goodwin Jr. Dean of the College of Engineering at VCU) I write this on behalf of the deans of the following engineering schools in Virginia: Christopher Newport University, George Mason University, Hampton University, James Madison University, Liberty University, Norfolk State University, Old Dominion University, Sweet Briar College, the University of Virginia, Virginia Military Institute, Virginia State University and Virginia Tech. Most of us never will forget 2020. Many wish its difficulties had not happened. But we don’t get to choos...
A budget amendment introduced by Roanoke Del. Sam Rasoul to bring the University of Virginia’s Family Nurse Practioner Program to Wise was included in the amended House 2020-22 budget. The program would create new health care jobs and expand health care access in Southwest Virginia.
The UVA Medical Center reported an average daily census for the Feb. 5-11 period of 511.1, 83.2% of its 614-bed capacity. The average number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients at UVA for the period was 45.9, up slightly from last week’s average of 44.1.
While they wait, both shelters said they’re educating guests on vaccine efforts, through support from UVA. “In places like The Haven and other shelters and other congregate settings, it’s very important that providers in those settings are vaccinated. I think that’s been a priority group in the Blue Ridge Health District, and I know at UVA, that we’ve supported those vaccine efforts, I think including vaccinating staff from the Haven. I may be mistaken, but that’s been part of our commitment,” said Dr. Costi Sifri, a lead epidemiologist at UVA Health.
UVA Health is sharing the latest updates on vaccination efforts and new concerns about COVID-19 variants in Virginia. Dr. Costi Sifri, the director of hospital epidemiology, says when it comes to COVID-19 vaccines, the issue continues to be limited supply. As for the virus itself, the possibility of variants is also troubling many medical experts.
UVA Health gave an update on the treatment of COVID-19 patients and the capacity of local facilities, including the Intensive Care Unit.
(Commentary) On April 30, 1789 – during the first inauguration in American history – Washington “probably gave his inaugural speech with teeth that were from people who were enslaved.” And it was “grim.” If you don’t believe me, read “Did George Washington’s False Teeth Come From His ‘Slaves?’” written by acclaimed author, historical essayist, and University of Virginia’s Martha Washington Papers Project Research Editor Kathryn Gehred.
While the Vermont Senate bill does not mention data about students’ experiences with or views on school resource officers, it does cite the 2020 Virginia Secondary School Climate Survey conducted by UVA’s School of Education and Human Development, which found that 85% of staff “somewhat to strongly agree” that SROs make them feel safer at school, and 90% saying SROs make a positive contribution to the school.
(Commentary) Researchers from UVA and James Madison University followed 165 adolescents as they aged from 13 to 30 to learn what best predicted who would experience satisfying romantic relationships in their late 20s and into adulthood. It turns out the best practice comes from friendships. The study’s lead researcher, Joseph P. Allen, UVA’s Hugh P. Kelly Professor of Psychology, says the “greater stability found in same-gender friendships, allows for more long-term practice with the kinds of give-and-take needed to successfully handle romantic relationships in adulthood.”