Author Archives: Kim Morris

A CBS-17 reports black people in North Carolina have received the COVID-19 vaccine at a rate twice as high as several other nearby states that disclose their demographic information. The state Department of Health and Human Services says 10 percent of the more than 238,000 doses of vaccine administered over...

Officials are fighting pushback from the very people who see the coronavirus up close everyday. WSOC-TV (Channel 9) reports many healthcare workers in South Carolina are opting out of getting the vaccine. David Wohl, MD, professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases, told WSOC-TV that the same muddled...

A news report on a CBS17.com data analysis found that black people in North Carolina have accounted for a shrinking share of the total number of VOID-19 cases over the past few months. But while on the surface that seems like a positive development for a community hit disproportionately hard...

Even with multiple vaccines, people will continue to get sick from COVID-19. Treatments are needed to keep infected people from getting worse and inundating our hospitals even more. David Wohl, MD, professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases, told CBS17 that UNC is investigating a testing treatment from...

Constantly disinfecting doorknobs and other everyday surfaces to prevent the spread of COVID-19 may be overkill, according to infectious disease experts. Emily Sickbert-Bennett, PhD, associate professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases, told WTVD-11 that disinfecting all the surfaces in your house may not be a total waste...

The Washington Post reports two rheumatoid arthritis drugs that suppress the immune system may help critically ill patients survive covid-19, providing a benefit even on top of the steroids that have been doctors’ main tools in treating the most serious cases of illness, according to a new study released Thursday...

In the summer of 2001, Shani Morgan was a few months pregnant and in prison, where she learned that she had HIV. She’d been sent from jail to Bragg Street Women’s Prison in Raleigh for better monitoring and medical treatment. What she remembers most about being treated by her UNC...

A WTKR-News 3 story from northeastern North Carolina reports that UNC has begun enrolling participants for the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine phase III trial. Cindy Gay, MD, associate professor in the division of infectious diseases, describes the need for a diverse participation for the trial, including people over the age of...

The University will begin its commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 17 with an annual banquet and awards presentation. The celebrations will conclude a week later with a lecture led by the co-founder of the Black Lives Matter Global Network. (University Communications, Thursday, January 14th, 2021) The...

CBS17 News reports that the Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday they would now ask states to stop holding back on COVID-19 vaccine doses. States were initially holding back doses to ensure that there would be enough for people come back for the recommended second dose. Federal public...

WTVD-11 reports UNC Health began administering COVID-19 vaccines to people 75 years of age and older under Phase 1B on Monday and that more health care providers in North Carolina are opening up vaccinations to those who qualify under Phase 1B. Already, existing appointments at UNC Health are booked, but...

Seth A. Berkowitz, MD, is the principal investigator of a $3.25 million award grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) designed to broaden clinical studies of medically tailored meal delivery, and understand how best to address food insecurity in the context of diabetes management for people with HIV.  Berkowitz...