Category: 2020
Carey Will Retire in 2021
Timothy Carey, MD, MPH, the Sarah Graham Kenan Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Social Medicine, will retire in January after 35 years as a UNC faculty member. As a health services leader and researcher, active in both inpatient and outpatient care, Carey says serving UNC and the state’s residents has been his life’s work, and he will continue to be involved with seve … Continued
Kim Says Allergic Reactions to COVID-19 Vaccine Likely To Be Extremely Rare
As the US Food and Drug Administration considers whether to authorize emergency use of Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine, medical experts are paying close attention to reports of allergic reactions to the vaccine. Edwin Kim, MD, associate professor of medicine and pediatrics in the division of rheumatology, allergy and immunology, says it’s not immediately clear to what ingr … Continued
Group In East Informing Minority Groups About COVID-19 and Its Vaccine
WNCT (Greenville) reports vaccinations are starting across North Carolina, with CarolinaEast Health System in New Bern giving medical workers the first shots in the Greenville region. But the report also recognizes that there are many people who don’t feel comfortable getting the vaccine and introduces a group in the east using virtual connections to answer questions and ease con … Continued
Sheikh Leads Largest Ever Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled SLE Study
Saira Sheikh, MD, led the “BASE” study, now published in The Lancet Rheumatology, which found mortality, AESIs among SLE (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus) patients taking Benlysta similar to placebo. Learn more from the UNC Health and UNC School of Medicine Newsroom.
Genetically Altered Pigs Approved For Food, Potential Medical Use
Agri-Pulse reports the Food and Drug Administration has for the first time approved an intentional genomic alteration, or IGA, in animals that can be used for both food and human therapeutics. The IGA is in what are called GalSafe pigs, bred to eliminate alpha-gal sugar on the surface of the pigs’ cells. The article references Scott Commins, MD, PhD, associate professor of medici … Continued
North Carolina Needs to Do More to Protect Workers From COVID-19, Civil Rights Leaders Say
A labor advocate group is asking a North Carolina court to have the state’s Department of Labor reconsider additional actions to protect frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. ABC-13 News reports the request comes after Labor Secretary Cherie Berry said the pandemic is not a workplace hazard. “We know that this virus can be transmitted from one infected person to another … Continued
Make Sure To Get Both Doses of Coronavirus Vaccine, Physicians Urge
The first two coronavirus vaccines seeking emergency authorization from federal regulators require two doses, and medical professionals worry that some people may be tempted to get only one dose. Experts say that could allow the virus to mutate and once again expose a danger to people. WRAL interviewed Cindy Gay, MD, associate professor in infectious diseases, who said she’s opti … Continued
Researchers Rank Various Mask Protection, Modifications Against COVID-19
It’s been shown that when two people wearing masks interact, the chance of COVID-19 transmission is drastically reduced. This is why public health officials have pleaded for all people to wear masks: they not only protect the wearer from expelling particles that might carry SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), but masks also protect the wearer from inhal … Continued
Who Is Rochelle Walensky, Biden’s Pick For CDC Director?
Ada Adimora, MD, professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases, was a guest on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” and asked about Rochelle Walensky, an infectious disease specialist chosen by president-elect Joe Biden to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Oh, my God. You know, honestly, there is no better pick for this appointment. I mean, she’s the … Continued
Inside the Battleground: The Frontline of the Coronavirus Pandemic in the US
The view of the devastation of COVID-19 from the inside is far different than from the outside, CBS17 (NewsNation) reports. In a political climate consumed by masks and relief money, a look behind the intensive care curtain finds unprecedented work and camaraderie, impossible sadness and even a little bit of hope. Shannon Carson, MD, chief of pulmonary and critical care medicine, … Continued
Obesity Rates Significantly Higher in Black Women With Breast Cancer
Physician’s Weekly featured a recently published retrospective review by Kristen Nyrop, PhD, assistant professor of oncology, on racial disparities in the prevalence of comorbidities in general and obesity-related comorbidities in Black and White women with early stage, hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. Read the article here.
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From UNC Health Talk: the Science of mRNA Vaccines
In our bodies right now, messenger RNA, or mRNA, is sending genetic instructions for cells to make proteins—the machines of life that make heart muscles beat, hair follicles grow, and many other biological process happen. This mRNA is a long molecule that contains instructions that a cell uses to create proteins. Knowing this, in January 2020 scientists sequenced the entire genet … Continued