coronavirus

Vaccines provide a high level of protection against COVID-19. That’s one of the findings of an ongoing research study following health care workers, first responders, and other essential workers in Arizona. KNAU’s Melissa Sevigny spoke with Dr. Jeff Burgess of the University of Arizona Health Sciences about the HEROES study and why the rise of the Delta variant in Arizona is worrisome.

Coconino County has reinstated a mask mandate inside all of its buildings amid a renewed spike in COVID-19 infections. Low vaccination rates and the Delta variant are driving increased case numbers nationwide. KNAU’s Ryan Heinsius reports.

Gila County health officials recently reported an uptick in COVID-19 cases, particularly in the communities of Payson, Star Valley, and Pine. KNAU’s Melissa Sevigny reports.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced a lot of people to work from home and drastically change their driving habits. A new survey from Arizona State University shows many Americans expect those changes to last after the pandemic is over. KNAU’s Melissa Sevigny spoke with lead author Deborah Salon about the findings.

Cats and dogs can get infected with COVID-19, but not much is known about the relationships between sick people and their pets. Scientists at Flagstaff’s Translational Genomics Research Institute are recruiting Arizona pet owners who have been recently diagnosed with COVID to learn more. KNAU’s Melissa Sevigny spoke with lead researcher Hayley Yaglom about what she’s learned so far.

Many Native students who attend school in Flagstaff live in a dormitory operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs because their family homes are far away, scattered on the vast Navajo Nation. But when schools shut their doors at the start of the pandemic, they had to go home…where they faced not only a sudden switch to online classes, but also a lack of access to Internet, electricity, food and water. Teachers and counselors worked long hours to stay connected to their students, many of whom were suffering from isolation and fear. Darrell Marks is the Native American academic advisor at Flagstaff High School. Tomorrow he receives a special award for courage from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation for risking his health and safety to help others during the pandemic. In this audio postcard, we meet Darrell Marks who says the recognition is bittersweet after a year of heartbreaking loss.

India’s crisis continues with 26 million confirmed coronavirus cases and three hundred thousand deaths; thousands more are reported every day. The country’s severe shortage of vaccines reveals the inequities in the coronavirus response between developed and developing nations. Amit Kumar is an epidemiologist at Northern Arizona University who researches health care disparities. He spoke to KNAU’s Melissa Sevigny about how India’s crisis is a global problem—but also deeply personal for him, because he has family and friends there suffering from unimaginable tragedy and fear.