When COVID-19 hit Arizona, our faculty and students responded. Our public health faculty had the knowledge and experience they needed to fight a pandemic. This is what they had trained for. They were ready to meet the challenge, and the results have been remarkable.

Taking Action to Fight COVID

In March of 2020, we were suddenly facing a threat we had never encountered. In response, our faculty answered endless questions, provided guidelines and programs to stop transmission, and trained and implemented contact tracing teams. They guided the university through its early response in the spring of 2020, and then through the complex UArizona reopening plan (Test, Trace, Treat) in fall 2020 to keep us all safe and healthy. Our students collaborated with the Pima County Health Department, the Arizona Department of Health Services, and county health departments and community organizations all around the state to stop the spread of COVID and provide support services for those who were struggling. Once the vaccines became available, our faculty and students shifted gears to promote and deliver the vaccine, especially to underserved populations through the Mobile Health Units vaccination events and other vaccine outreach programs.

Vital COVID Research

At the same time, our faculty launched research projects that would inform our response to COVID with solid scientific data, projects like the AZ HEROES research study for the CDC, and the CoVHORT research study, a longitudinal study that evaluates the long term health effects of COVID infection.  Within the university community, our researchers looked at the wellness of older employees during the pandemic in the Saguaro Study, and gathered data on the challenges faced by frontline workers. Our research studies continue, and they’ve already provided valuable scientific insights into the levels of immunity following infection, the effectiveness of the vaccines in real-world conditions, and the long-term health effects of the virus. This data not only helps public health leaders here in the United States to make better decisions, it also enables healthcare workers globally to fight the virus more effectively.

Support our programs and research to help us in our fight against COVID-19!

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