Category: Health

The University of Wisconsin – Madison’s University Health Services has a team of about 100 contact tracers, roughly double that of last semester, according to registered nurse Carlotta Soeder.

Perhaps not since 9/11 – when droves of young people followed the career footsteps of first responders, soldiers, and firefighters – have current events shaped the area of work people pursue, says Mary McSweeney, assistant dean for admissions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Medicine and Public Health.

Dr. Aurora Pop-Vicas is working to crack the case. She explained she’s seen similar outcomes with other respiratory viruses, but Covid presents unique challenges.“We are increasingly aware of how common this is because covid-19 is on the forefront of our efforts,” Pop-Vicas, UW-Madison school of medicine and public health infectious disease assistant professor said.

“What we need to do is modify the vaccines to specifically target the variant that is causing trouble and the good news there is the ability to modify the vaccines is a little bit easier,” Dr. Jeff Pothoff, UW-Health’s chief quality officer said.

“One of the things pediatricians will commonly tell you is that kids are not just little adults,” said Dr. Matt Anderson, a Senior Medical Director for UW Health. “They have different things going on in their bodies that need to be studied.”

“At some point we’re just going to have to start to realize that old COVID probably isn’t going to be around as much,” said Jeff Pothof, UW Health’s chief quality officer. “As some of these strains are more contagious, they’ll become the dominant strains.”

“If they have the opportunity to be vaccinated somewhere else, we would definitely embrace them doing so, and then just ask that they let us know,” said Matt Anderson, UW Health’s Senior Medical Director for Primary Care.

Yoshihiro Kawaoka, DVM, PhD, Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine and University of Tokyo

The Milwaukee Public Health Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Gundersen Health System are also processing virus samples. Together, the four labs are sequencing an estimated 400 to 600 samples per week, Bateman said, adding he would like to see capacity increase.

Dr. Sheryl Henderson is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Infectious diseases at UW-Madsion’s School of Public Health. She encourages all people get vaccinated when it’s their turn but also understands why some people of color may be hesitant.

Dehdashti is one of many students who were immediately interested in the global health major when it was first offered this past fall. According to Susan Paskewitz, director of undergraduate global health programs in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the foundational class for the major immediately filled up, meeting its 150 student capacity.

Meanwhile, UW Health early this week canceled more than 2,400 vaccination appointments set for this week after it received about half the vaccine supply expected from the state, said Dr. Matt Anderson, senior medical director of primary care. The appointments have been rescheduled for the next couple of weeks, he said.

The CDC put out a new recommendation Wednesday, encouraging the use of mask fitters. This may be a new term to many people, but a team of UW Madison engineers and researchers, cited in the CDC’S guidance, have been encouraging the public to use them for months.

As we approached the start of flu season, health officials prepared for the possibility of a “twin pandemic” with COVID-19 and influenza. UW Health has seen virtually no local flu cases this year.

Doctors at UW Health are seeing historically low flu numbers for the 2020-2021 season. On this day last year, UW Health had seen more than 1,000 positive influenza tests in the 2019-2020 season. On Wednesday, health officials from UW reported only one for this season.

The founder of American Girl donated $10 million Tuesday toward a new transplant clinic at University Hospital, and UW Health noted this donation may be one of her most personal yet.

With tens of thousands of people already scheduled to receive their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine at UW Health, the number of those doses the hospital has on hand had dwindled into the dozens.

UW Health announced Tuesday a generous donation of $10 million for a new Transplant Clinic at University Hospital from local philanthropist, Pleasant Rowland. Rowland is a local educator, entrepreneur, philanthropist and best known as the founder of the Middleton-based Pleasant Company, now American Girl.

Vaccination efforts throughout Wisconsin will soon get an extra boost thanks to a grant that will partner the UW School of Medicine and Public Health with the UW-Madison School of Nursing and four other UW System to support vaccination efforts around the state.

On Tuesday morning, UW Health’s vaccine dashboard showed the health organization only had 93 first doses available and 22,353 people scheduled to get the shot. “It’s really apparent that there’s just not enough vaccine and there’s really a big mismatch,” said Dr. Matt Anderson, Senior Medical Director of Primary Care at UW Health.

Construction of UW Health’s new transplant clinic is getting a big boost today thanks to a generous donation from a local entrepreneur and philanthropist.

After more than 2,000 students were quarantined in two high-rise dormitories as the virus raged through its campus last fall, the University of Wisconsin-Madison beefed up its testing regimen, with plans to administer up to 80,000 tests a week this spring.

It takes a tremendous effort from the staff, University of Wisconsin students sent from the School of Pharmacy, and even volunteers from the community.

UW Health is launching a new online tool to track their current vaccination progress. The COVID-19 vaccination dashboard shows up-to-date information on where vaccination efforts stand as eligibility expands across Wisconsin.

With fewer than 3,700 COVID-19 vaccines on hand and nearly 30,000 patients already scheduled to receive a dose, the UW Health announces it will need to start rescheduling appointments to allow time to restock its shelves. Sr. Medical Director Dr. Matt Anderson explained the hospital’s capacity for delivering the coronavirus vaccine is growing, however its staff is being hamstrung by supply issues.

Just because you have been vaccinated, does not mean you can cease taking precautions, UW Health said. Doctors ask that you continue to wear a mask, social distance, and avoid large gatherings.”We’ll need to do this until most people have been vaccinated,” UW Health said in a release.