Dr. Bauchner is out as JAMA editor-in-chief

By Kristina Fiore
MedPage Today

In the wake of a controversy centered on structural racism in medicine, Howard Bauchner, MD, is relinquishing his post as editor-in-chief of JAMA and the JAMA Network, the American Medical Association (AMA) announced, which MedPage Today reported on Tuesday, June 1.

Dr. Bauchner's resignation will be effective June 30, 2021. He took the job about a decade ago, in 2011.

In March, Dr. Bauchner was put on on administrative leave pending an investigation into a heavily criticized podcast and an accompanying tweet about structural racism in medicine.

In a statement e-mailed to media by the AMA, Dr. Bauchner said he was "profoundly disappointed in myself for the lapses that led to the publishing of the tweet and podcast. Although I did not write or even see the tweet, or create the podcast, as editor in chief, I am ultimately responsible for them."

The controversy arose over a Feb. 24 JAMA Network podcast – which was later deleted – in which host and then-JAMA Deputy Editor Edward Livingston, MD, said, "Structural racism is an unfortunate term. Personally, I think taking racism out of the conversation will help. Many of us are offended by the concept that we are racist."

A tweet promoting the podcast – which was also deleted – stated, "No physician is racist, so how can there be structural racism in health care?"

On March 4, internal medicine resident Shirlene Obuobi, MD, posted a Twitter thread outlining several criticisms of the episode, which echoed loudly around #medtwitter.

Aletha Maybank, MD, MPH, chief health equity officer at the AMA, tweeted that the podcast and tweet were actually "a demonstration of structural & institutional racism. I am furious."

Dr. Bauchner subsequently posted an apology on Twitter, and posted an audio apology in place of the deleted podcast. Dr. Livingston resigned the following week.

Click here to read the full story. The senior leadership of The Institute for Antiracism in Medicine (IAM) wrote an open letter to AMA. Click here to read it below. 

Editorial: Equity and the JAMA Network 

The key objective of JAMA is “To promote the science and art of medicine and the betterment of the public health”; similar objectives and mission statements are supported by all 12 JAMA Network Journals. Together this family of journals is committed to publishing the best research, reviews and opinion articles to advance medical science, promote public health and improve patient care. The ultimate goal is to promulgate truth in science and medicine.

On February 23, 2021, a podcast titled “Structural Racism for Doctors—What Is It‪?” was posted by the JAMA Network and on the following day, a tweet was posted to promote the podcast. Assertions in both that disavowed the presence of structural racism in medicine and among physicians were wrong, misguided and uninformed. An extensive evidence base strongly supports the presence of structural racism in medicine and its adverse influence on health. The process for reviewing and publishing the podcast and tweet was also flawed. On March 4, 2021, Howard Bauchner, MD, editor-in-chief of JAMA and the 12 JAMA Network Journals, took responsibility and issued an apology for the podcast and tweet. This editorial team also expresses a profound apology for the misinformation in the podcast and tweet and recognizes the hurt, anger and outrage that resulted.

Arizona testing sites and numbers

Updated as of Thursday, June 10, 2021, all 15 Arizona counties have confirmed cases with a combined total of 885,412 cases across the state and 17,742 deaths and 6,107,411 vaccinations administered.* In Pima County: 116,855 cases 2,416 deaths and 811,127 vaccinations administered.* For up-to-date numbers, click here. 

Click here for vaccine finder locations.

Arizonans are able to access COVID-19 testing at more than 600 various sites throughout the state. Click here to find information on where to find the COVID-19 testing sites, hours of operation and information about pre-registration. If you have a testing site you would like to be included on this list, please use this form to provide information about your site.

*Vaccination numbers are displayed by the county of vaccine administration. Vaccinations administered at State of Arizona vaccination sites (PODs) are included in the state totals but not the county totals. 

ADHS to shift focus to community-based vaccination opportunities

State-run vaccination sites, which have administered 1.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to nearly 900,000 individuals (as of Thursday, June 3), will be phased out over the coming weeks as Arizona’s focus turns to increasing the number of neighborhood options, including pharmacies, doctors’ offices and pop-up clinics.

“Starting with our 24/7 operation at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, these sites established a national model for getting limited doses of vaccine into the community rapidly and efficiently,” said Dr. Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS). “We’re in a much different position today than we were early in the year, with enough vaccine available throughout Arizona for virtually anyone to get vaccinated when they want close to home.”

State-run vaccination sites have already started to phase out with changes to days and times of operations. Saturday, June 5, was the last day individuals could receive a first dose and have a second dose scheduled at a state-operated vaccine site before the final site at Gila River Arena in Glendale officially closes Monday, June 28. The University of Arizona state-operated site's last day will be June 25.

Click here to read the full release. 

New single incision robotic kidney cancer surgery available

Banner – University Medicine Tucson is now offering single port, robotic-assisted kidney cancer surgery thanks to the expertise of Benjamin Lee, MD, a leading authority on robotic treatment of renal cell carcinoma and a PCMS member. 

The surgery is called single port robotic partial nephrectomies, or single port robotic surgery, which uses the da Vinci SP® Single Port Surgical System, a technological advancement to treat complex kidney cancers through one small incision. In addition, to kidney cancer, an otolaryngologist can also use the technology to treat ear, nose and throat lesions.

Dr. Lee, who also is chair (interim) and professor of urology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson, said the goal of the surgery is to remove the kidney cancer, while preserving 50 to 75 percent of the remaining kidney, which decreases the risk of renal failure.  

The complex robotic surgery is the leading edge of technology and introduces new expertise and surgical techniques previously not available in the state of Arizona. 

Click here to read the full press release.

White House outlines plan for how U.S. would distribute
an initial 25 million doses around the world

By Sheryl Gay Stolberg
The New York Times

The White House, besieged with requests from other nations to share excess doses of coronavirus vaccine, on Thursday, June 3 announced it will distribute an initial 25 million doses this month across a “wide range of countries” within Latin America and the Caribbean, South and Southeast Asia, and Africa, as well as the war-ravaged Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank.

The 25 million represent an initial tranche of a total of 80 million doses President Biden has pledged to send overseas by the end of this month. Three quarters of the first batch will be given to the international vaccine effort known as Covax, officials said. The rest will be reserved for “immediate needs and to help with surges around the world,” they said, including in India and Iraq as well as the West Bank and Gaza.

Thursday’s (June 3) announcement came a week before Biden left for Cornwall, England, to meet with the heads of state of the Group of Seven Nations, where the global vaccine supply is certain to be a topic of discussion. Officials said the administration would continue to donate additional doses throughout the summer as they become available.

“This is just the beginning,” Jeff Zients, Mr. Biden’s coronavirus response coordinator, told reporters at a White House news conference on the virus. “Expect a regular cadence of shipments around the world, across the next several weeks.”

Click here to read the full story. 

Addressing global vaccine shortage,
Biden cites 'our humanitarian obligation'

By Megan Specia, Sharon LaFraniere, Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Noah Weiland and Michael D. Shear
The New York Times

President Biden, under pressure to address the global coronavirus vaccine shortage, announced on Thursday, June 10 that the United States will buy 500 million doses of vaccine and donate them for use by about 100 low- and middle-income countries over the next year.

“This is about our responsibility, our humanitarian obligation, to save as many lives as we can,” Biden said in a speech in England, ahead of the meeting of the Group of 7 wealthy democracies. “When we see people hurting and suffering anywhere around the world, we seek to help any way we can.”

In recent months, wealthy nations with robust vaccination campaigns have quickly moved toward inoculating large swaths of their population, but much of the world, particularly Africa, lags far behind, raising fears of more deadly waves that could overwhelm fragile health care systems and spawn new virus variants.

Now, as the leaders of the G7 prepare to meet in England starting on Friday, June 11, they are pledging to help close that gap. Biden said the G7 would announce a broader global strategy for containing the pandemic.

“America knows firsthand the tragedies of this pandemic,” he added, having suffered more than 600,000 deaths — “more deaths from COVID-19 in the United States than from World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War and 9/11, combined.”

The donation of 500 million Pfizer-BioNTech doses is by far the largest yet by a single country, but it would fully inoculate only about 3 percent of the world’s population. The United States will pay $1.5 billion for the Pfizer-BioNTech shots, about $3 apiece, which Pfizer described as a “not for profit” price — much less than the $20 it has paid for domestic use.

“The United States is providing these half billion doses with no strings attached,” Biden said. “We’re doing this to save lives, to end this pandemic. That’s it. Period.”

The first 200 million doses will be distributed by the end of this year, followed by 300 million by next June, Biden and Pfizer said. The doses will be distributed through Covax, the international vaccine-sharing initiative, which has lagged behind the hoped-for pace of distributing doses.

Click here to read the full story. 

U.S. will procure Merck's investigational antiviral medicine
for COVID-19 treatment

The Biden Administration on Wednesday, June 9 announced that the U.S. government will procure approximately 1.7 million courses of an investigational antiviral treatment, molnupiravir (MK-4482), for COVID-19 from Merck, pending emergency use authorization (EUA) or approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Molnupiravir (MK-4482) is designed to induce viral genome copying errors to prevent the virus from replicating in the human body, and evidence to date from clinical trials in patients with COVID-19 suggests that molnupiravir may reduce replication of the SAR-CoV-2 virus.

This treatment is being evaluated in an ongoing Phase 3 trial for its potential to reduce the risk of hospitalization or death in non-hospitalized patients who have symptoms for five days or less and are at high risk for severe illness. The trial plans to enroll a total of 1,850 patients globally with final data expected in the fall of 2021.

In studies, molnupiravir has demonstrated broad-spectrum activity against other viruses such as influenza, Ebola and Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis virus, although molnupiravir has not been approved by the FDA for treatment of these diseases.

This agreement is part of the Biden Administration’s whole-of-government approach to develop new COVID-19 treatments and to respond to the health needs of the public through unprecedented partnership between agencies including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense. This approach leverages all expertise and resources available to respond to COVID-19 such as funding the development and manufacturing of therapeutics, including antivirals.

Click here to read the full news release.

Screenings during COVID reveals inequities

By Vinay Prasad, MD, MPH 
MedPage Today

Vinay Prasad, MD, MPH, breaks down a new study that examined differences
in breast cancer screenings before and during the COVID-19 pandemic overall,
and among sociodemographic population groups.

Following is a transcript of his remarks:

Hey, welcome back. Vinay Prasad here for MedPage Today, I'm here with my segment, "Articles You Will Definitely Read (Later)." And I got a new article. It just came out in JAMA Network Open, and it's entitled "Socioeconomic and Racial Inequities in Breast Cancer Screening During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Washington State."

So let's take a look into this study. This is a study that just appears in JAMA Network Open, and the authors look at something very simple. Now we've known all along that COVID-19 can disrupt health care systems in several ways.

First they're all the people who suffer from COVID-19. Next, COVID-19 can hit places so hard that they experience health care systems being overwhelmed. And in those settings of overwhelmed health care systems, other things can fall through the cracks.

The third way COVID-19 can affect health care is that COVID-19 and lockdowns meant to reduce the burden of COVID-19 can result in routine care being disrupted.

And that's what the authors of this paper took a look at. They looked at mammographic screening during COVID-19 in Washington state. The authors were interested in what happened to mammographic screening during COVID-19. They plot out how many women underwent mammograms in 2018, 2019 and 2020. And lo and behold, it looks like during COVID-19 there were half as many mammograms performed as in the prior year, a reduction of 49 percent or roughly half. That is a lot fewer mammograms. And the women who weren't getting the mammograms done, they weren't just the average woman. It was more likely to affect people based on their racial and socioeconomic status.

Click here to read the full story. 

More than 300 million COVID vaccine shots administered in U.S.

By Rebecca Falconer
Axios

More than 300 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have now been administered in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Sunday, June 6. (As of Thursday, June 10 the doses administered have reached 305,687,618.)

The latest CDC figures (as of Thursday, June 10) show that 42.6 percent of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus and 51.9 percent has received at least one dose.

The vaccination milestone comes as the U.S. has seen new infections fall to the lowest level since March 2020, when the pandemic began.

CDC COVID study shows mRNA vaccines
reduce risk of infection by 91% for fully vaccinated people

A new CDC study (information released on Monday, June 7) finds the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna) reduce the risk of infection by 91 percent for fully vaccinated people. This adds to the growing body of real-world evidence of their effectiveness. Importantly, this study also is among the first to show that mRNA vaccination benefits people who get COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated (14 or more days after Dose 2) or partially vaccinated (14 or more days after Dose 1 to 13 days after Dose 2).

“COVID-19 vaccines are a critical tool in overcoming this pandemic,” said CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH. “Findings from the extended timeframe of this study add to accumulating evidence that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are effective and should prevent most infections — but that fully vaccinated people who still get COVID-19 are likely to have milder, shorter illness and appear to be less likely to spread the virus to others. These benefits are another important reason to get vaccinated.”

The findings come from four weeks of additional data collected in CDC’s HEROES-RECOVER study of health care workers, first responders, front-line workers and other essential workers. These groups are more likely to be exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19 because of their occupations. Preliminary results from this study were first announced in March 2021.

Click here to read the full new release.

CDC says unvaccinated kids at U.S. camps
can go without masks most of the time while outside

By Roni Caryn Rabin
The New York Times

Federal health officials are encouraging young people aged 12 and over who are heading to camp this summer to get vaccinated against the coronavirus as soon as possible, saying on Friday, May 28 that camps where all staff and campers are vaccinated can drop many COVID restrictions, including masks, and return to full capacity. Unvaccinated children can also go without masks most of the time when they are outside because the risk of transmission outdoors is low.

“For camps where everyone is fully vaccinated prior to the start of camp, it is safe to return to full capacity, without masking and without physical distancing,” the new guidance says.

In camps where not everyone is fully vaccinated, mask recommendations for all have been relaxed for most outdoor activities, unless the setting is crowded and involves sustained close contact. But other prevention strategies should be maintained, including physical distancing, grouping youngsters in cohorts or pods that don’t mix with one another; encouraging frequent hand washing; avoiding crowded settings and poorly ventilated indoor areas.

The guidance, issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says that if campers prefer to wear masks despite being fully vaccinated, camps should be supportive of their choice. Staff members and campers with compromised immune systems are urged to talk to their providers, and continue practicing precautions, like wearing masks.

Individuals are considered fully vaccinated by the CDC two weeks after receiving the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine or the second dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines.

Click here to read the full story. 

Arizona may not meet 70% vaccination goal by July 4

By Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services

The state’s top health official said Arizona may not meet President Biden’s goal of getting 70 percent of residents vaccinated against the coronavirus by July 4.

“Historically, Arizona has had pockets of vaccine hesitancy, even before COVID-19,’’ Dr. Cara Christ said Friday, June 4. “That kind of sets a baseline.’’

At the same time, she said, there has been a sharp decline in the number of vaccines being administered.

“A lot of Arizonans are independent. They want to make these decisions on their own,’’ Dr. Christ said.

Her prime weapon is getting information out about the vaccines and how they are safe, effective and free, she said.

Dr. Christ said she still thinks Arizona can get to 70 percent — eventually.

She noted there is a “wait and see’’ group sitting on the sidelines, waiting for some specific reason to get inoculated and watching for reports of side effects.

“But if there was an uptick in cases, maybe those wait-and-sees would be, ‘All right, maybe I’m not going to wait and see anymore; I’m going to get vaccinated,’" Dr. Christ said.

Click here to read the full story. 

U.S. map and case count

This is a round up of COVID news,
which has occurred over the past couple of weeks. 

A return to normal? Not for countries with COVID surges and few vaccines

In Colombia, nearly 500 people a day have died of the coronavirus over the last three weeks, the nation’s most dramatic daily death rates yet. Argentina is going through the “worst moment since the pandemic began,” according to its president. Scores are dying daily in Paraguay and Uruguay, which now have the highest reported fatality rates per person in the world. (This story was first published on Wednesday, June 2.)

“The vaccines are coming too late,” said María Victoria Castillo, whose 33-year-old husband, Juan David, died in May as he waited for the Colombian government to extend shots to his age group.

Deep into the second year of the pandemic, the world is dividing along a powerful, and painful, line: Those who have vaccines, and those who do not.

As rich nations like the United States prepare for a return to normalcy — at least half of the populations there and in Britain and Israel have received at least one dose of a vaccine, sending cases plummeting — some poorer nations, scrambling for shots and heaving under weary health systems and exhausted economies, are seeing their worst outbreaks since the start of the pandemic.

Click here to read the full story.

~The New York Times~

Slow to start, China now vaccinating at a staggering pace

In the span of just five days last month, China gave out 100 million shots of its COVID-19 vaccines.

After a slow start, China is now doing what virtually no other country in the world can: leveraging the power and all-encompassing reach of its one-party system and a maturing domestic vaccine industry to administer shots at a staggering pace. The rollout is far from perfect, including uneven distribution, but Chinese public health leaders now say they’re hoping to inoculate 80 percent of the population of 1.4 billion by the end of the year.

As of Wednesday, June 2, China had given out more than 704 million doses — with nearly half of those in May alone. China’s total is roughly a third of the 1.9 billion shots distributed globally, according to Our World in Data, an online research site.

Click here to read the full story.

~Associated Press~

The coronavirus surges across Africa as vaccine programs flounder

A sudden, sharp rise in coronavirus cases in many parts of Africa could amount to a continental third wave, the World Health Organization warned on Thursday, June 3, a portent of deeper trouble for a continent whose immunization drives have been crippled by shortfalls in funding and vaccine doses.

The WHO, an arm of the United Nations, said test positivity had risen in 14 African countries over the last seven days, with eight reporting a surge of over 30 percent in new cases. Infections are steadily climbing in South Africa, where four of nine provinces are battling a third wave. There has also been a sharp increase in cases in Uganda, with hospitals overwhelmed with COVID patients and the authorities mulling a lockdown.

Click here to read the full story.

~The New York Times~

In the U.S., vaccines for the youngest are expected this fall

Coronavirus vaccines may be available for U.S. children as young as six months by the fall, drugmakers say. Pfizer and Moderna are testing their vaccines in children under 12, and are expected to have results in hand by the end of the summer.

Compared with adults, children are much less likely to develop severe illness following infection with the coronavirus. But nearly 4 million children in the United States have tested positive for the virus since the start of the pandemic, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Doctors continue to see rare cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, a condition linked to COVID-19 that can affect multiple organs, including the heart. Vaccinating children should further contribute to containment of the virus by decreasing its spread in communities.

Pfizer announced on Tuesday, June 8 that it was moving to test its vaccine in children aged 5 through 12 years. It will begin testing the vaccine in infants as young as six months in the next few weeks.

The company said last month that it expected to apply to the Food and Drug Administration in September for emergency authorization of the vaccine for children ages 2 to 11. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was authorized last month for use in children 12 through 15.

In March, Moderna began testing varying doses of its vaccine in younger children. That trial aimed to enroll 6,750 healthy children in the United States and Canada. Results are not expected till the end of the summer, and the vaccine’s authorization by the FDA will take longer.

Click here to read the full story.

~The New York Times~

In U.S., hospitalizations are rising in areas with low vaccination rates

The coronavirus might be receding in much of the United States, but health officials worry that the low immunization rates in parts of the country and the spread of highly contagious virus variants may pose a threat to the nation’s remarkable progress since vaccines were introduced.

In Newton County, Mo., for example, where just 15 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, area hospitals reported they were treating 46 people for COVID-19 as of June 3, a 47 percent rise over the previous two weeks, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services. Comanche County, Okla., saw a 63 percent jump in COVID hospitalizations, with 10 people being treated; just 32 percent of county residents are fully vaccinated.

Many of the places with the notable recent jumps in hospitalization rates are smaller communities, where new virus cases and hospitalizations may be in the single digits. Nationally, hospitalizations for COVID-19 continue to decline, though eight states have seen upticks. That includes Louisiana, Utah and Oklahoma, which have lagging vaccination rates.

On the other hand, some states with low vaccination rates, including Mississippi and Alabama, have seen fewer people in the hospital in recent weeks, though in Alabama, cases are rising. Hospitalization figures typically lag case counts, because it may take some time for someone who is infected to become severely ill.

Still, experts are concerned that upticks in hospitalization and case numbers could bloom into a surge this summer, as people head indoors to escape the heat, especially across the South in communities where vaccination rates are low.

Click here to read the full story.

~The New York Times~

FDA approves much-debated Alzheimer's drug panned by experts

By Matthew Perrone
Associated Press

Government health officials on Monday, June 7 approved the first new drug for Alzheimer’s disease in nearly 20 years, disregarding warnings from independent advisers that the much-debated treatment hasn’t been shown to help slow the brain-destroying disease.

The Food and Drug Administration said it approved the drug from Biogen based on results that seemed “reasonably likely” to benefit Alzheimer’s patients.

It’s the only therapy that U.S. regulators have said can likely treat the underlying disease, rather than manage symptoms like anxiety and insomnia.

The decision, which could impact millions of Americans and their families, is certain to spark disagreements among physicians, medical researchers and patient groups. It also has far-reaching implications for the standards used to evaluate experimental therapies, including those that show only incremental benefits.

The new drug, which Biogen developed with Japan’s Eisai Co., did not reverse mental decline, only slowing it in one study. The medication, aducanumab, will be marketed as Aduhelm and is to be given as an infusion every four weeks.

Dr. Caleb Alexander, an FDA adviser who recommended against the drug’s approval, said he was “surprised and disappointed” by the decision.

“The FDA gets the respect that it does because it has regulatory standards that are based on firm evidence. In this case, I think they gave the product a pass,” said Dr. Alexander, a medical researcher at Johns Hopkins University.

The FDA’s top drug regulator acknowledged that “residual uncertainties” surround the drug, but said Aduhelm’s ability to reduce harmful clumps of plaque in the brain is expected to help slow dementia.

“The data supports patients and caregivers having the choice to use this drug,” Dr. Patrizia Cavazzoni told reporters. She said FDA carefully weighed the needs of people living with the “devastating, debilitating and deadly disease.”

Click here to read the full story.

Unused Johnson & Johnson COVID doses piling up
as FDA waits to see if shelf life can be extended

By Rachana Pradham and Christina Jewett
Kaiser Health News

The Biden administration is encouraging states to hold on to hundreds of thousands of soon-to-expire COVID vaccine doses from Johnson & Johnson, given the possibility that additional data will show the shots are viable beyond their expiration date at month’s end.

Dr. Janet Woodcock, acting commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, told state officials during a White House call Tuesday, June 8 that they could store expired doses until new data shows whether the vaccines are safe to use, according to multiple state officials.

State health officials have strenuously warned vaccine administrators against using expired doses. Now, though, the FDA appears optimistic that the Johnson & Johnson expiration dates — which begin to kick in later this month — could be extended, according to state officials who were on the call.

“This is really welcome news,” said Dr. Joseph Kanter, state health officer for the Louisiana Department of Health. Louisiana has 14,000 J&J doses that will expire this month. “I think at the end of the day there’ll be less waste.” 

The federal government has delivered 21.4 million doses of the company’s vaccine to states, but just more than half — 11.2 million — have been administered, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The quantity is a fraction of shipments of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID vaccine, which are approaching 200 million doses, as well as Moderna’s shot, which stands at more than 150 million doses.

Click here to read the full story. 

An open letter to the American Medical Association

This letter was published on May 16, 2021. It was reported by MedPage Today
on June 1 that Dr. Howard Bauchner's resignation will be effective June 30, 2021.

To the American Medical Association (AMA) Board of Trustees and other members of AMA senior leadership:

We, the senior leadership of The Institute for Antiracism in Medicine (IAM), are writing to you to provide updates regarding a petition that we virtually circulated in response to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) podcast released on February 24, 2021 entitled: “Structural Racism for Doctors – What Is it?”

As you are aware, as a group of health care professionals, patients and community members committed to the advancement of antiracism in medicine, we were deeply concerned by the claims made in this podcast from JAMA.

The petition penned by IAM calls for institutional change within JAMA that will work to dissolve the structural racism that permeates the field of medicine. The actions specifically requested by the petition seek to implement change that would create equitable policies promoting the science and art of medicine for the betterment of public health. We have enclosed the petition signed by more than 8,800 (as of 7:30 a.m. 5/16/2021) health care and non-health care members of our community who are in support of our requests.

In particular, the petition requested the formal review of the leadership displayed by Dr. Howard Bauchner as editor-in-chief, including actions suggesting a failure to diversify the editorial staff and evidence that he has consistently demonstrated discriminatory behavior in his work in this role.

We were recently pleased to review the AMA’s Organizational Strategic Plan to Embed Racial Justice and Advance Health Equity. We commend your goals to embed equity throughout the AMA enterprise and foster truth, reconciliation, racial healing and transformation. We value working alongside you to attain these goals by requesting accountability for the problematic editorial leadership decisions of JAMA.

In Unity,

Jessica Richardson, MD
Co-Founder, Institute for Antiracism in Medicine

Brittani James, MD
Co-Founder, Institute for Antiracism in Medicine

Brandi Jackson, MD
Co-Founder, Institute for Antiracism in Medicine

Click here to access the open letter to the AMA. Click here to read above the announcement from the AMA about Dr. Bauchner's resignation.

Hot Topics in Risk Management

Our Risk Management Team is here to help you minimize and mitigate Medical Professional Liability risk. 

Vaccination competency and needlestick prevention

Distribution planning of COVID-19 vaccines during Operation Warp Speed was given less focused attention and the initial roll-out was slower than expected. This gave physicians and practice administrators time to confirm the credentials and competency of practice staff to store, administer and properly document vaccinations of any kind. Check the practice’s employment and/or credentials/competency files to ensure registered nurses, licensed practical or vocational nurses and medical assistants are qualified to administer vaccines. The documentation will fortify the defense of a medical professional liability claim related to vaccine storage and administration.

With sound documentation of credentials and competency in place, physicians and practices should ensure “sharps” disposal containers are in every room and office in the practice. Physicians and practice administrators should also remind staff to use sharps containers and never throw away loose needles or sharps in trash cans, recycling bins, sinks or toilets. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says the safest way to dispose of needles or sharps is in an approved container. If a container is not available and needle recapping is necessary, practices should encourage the use of mechanical recapping devices, practice-approved needle clippers or the FDA’s one-handed scoop needle recapping method.

Click here to read the full Hot Topic.

Senior Risk Management Consultants are ready to help with questions and provide more information. You can reach a Consultant Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. MST at (800) 352-0402  Ext. 2137, (602) 808-2137, or rm_info@mica-insurance.com.

Mutual Insurance Company of Arizona (MICA) is a Friends of the Society member.

Financial Strategies for Physicians of Pima County Medical Society

Join McKenna Stephens, CFP and Stephanie Tsang, CFP, CEPA both financial advisors at North Star Resource Group, will host Financial Strategies for Physicians of Pima County Medical Society on Tuesday, June 29 at 7 p.m. via Zoom.

Specific topic discussions include:

• Prioritizing your financial health
• Retirement preparation
• Wealth management strategies
• Risk management / asset protection strategies
• Social Security basics

Major vaccination centers in Pima County

The county has expanded COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to those 12 and older. (Pfizer is for ages 12 and older. Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are for those 18 and older.) 

While there are no more restrictions on eligibility other than age, only the Pfizer vaccine has been approved for 12 and older. Pfizer is available at the state-run site on the University of Arizona campus, at Banner-South and, potentially, at local pharmacies.

Those younger than 18 who are getting vaccinated need a parent or legal guardian with them to complete the consent forms. The only exception is if an accompanying adult brings a notarized letter stating that the parent allows the accompanying adult to complete the consent forms.

COVID-19 vaccines now available at Pima County health clinics

The Pima County Health Department began to offer COVID-19 vaccinations at its three main health clinics on Monday, June 7.

All three brands of the vaccine – Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson – will be available. Anyone 12 years and older are eligible.

The health department encourages people to call the offices to make an appointment, but the clinics will take walk-ins during regular hours. All three clinics are closed from noon to 1 p.m.

Vaccination hours at the clinic are expected to expand later this month.

Some of the larger COVID-19 vaccination sites have closed, or have plans to do so by the end of the month, but Pima County is continuing its outreach through mobile clinics, including those in partnership with FEMA, and now at the clinics. The vaccines are also widely available at local pharmacies.

For a full list of vaccination sites, visit pima.gov/covid19vaccine.

Click here to access the press release.

Health Department honored as 'Gold Innovative Practice Awardee'
for COVID-19 response programs

The Pima County Health Department has been honored with the 2021 Gold Innovative Practice Award by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO).

This award celebrates local health departments for developing innovative programs to meet the needs of their community during the COVID-19 pandemic. The department earned the award for the creative, community-focused work being done by the Mitigating COVID-19 in Communities of Color (MC3) Program.

The MC3 program has led the way for much of Pima County’s efforts to increase access to COVID-19 testing, vaccination, rapid response care coordination and case management services for underserved communities across the county. The MC3 program’s efforts to conduct mobile COVID-19 testing were featured by the National Resource Center for Refugees, Immigrants and Migrants.

The designation as a Gold Innovative Practice demonstrates the highest level of program innovation and reflects the County’s commitment to collaboration, adaptability and resiliency in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This award is a representation of thousands of hours of work from dedicated staff, volunteers and community partners,” said Jess Seline, MC3 Program Manager. “This pandemic has had a devastating effect on all of us, especially in communities already facing access to care and other health equity issues.

“We are proud of the commitment the health department and our amazing partners have made to ensuring an equitable distribution of COVID-19 response efforts.”

NACCHO’s Diamond Affiliate Partner, Contakt World is sponsoring the 2021 Innovative Practice Award. As the 2021 award sponsor, Contakt World will award Pima County a $7,000 in-kind contribution of their public health services. In addition, the health department will receive a complementary registration to NACCHO’s annual conference, NACCHO 360.

Innovative Practices are exciting approaches and strategies to local public health issues that were developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and were creatively adapted to meet the circumstances of the pandemic. MC3 is one of many successful public health practices in areas that range from health equity and face mask distribution programs to contactless delivery methods and drive-thru testing. Read more about these award-winning practices at the Innovative Practices Database.

Click here to access the bulletin.

Noon Awards distinguish three medicine graduates

Three University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson medical school graduates were selected to receive the 2021 Zenas B. Noon Award for Excellence in Cardiology. The award was established by the family of Dr. Noon, a surgeon born in Nogales, Ariz., who served that community for more than three decades.

Joseph Heiler, MD will begin an eight-year cardiothoracic surgery residency at the University of Utah. “Since my early days of medical school, I have had a deep interest in cardiology, cardiac basic science and cardiac physiology. During my clinical years, I developed a research interest in cardiac surgery and interventional cardiology. I was fortunate to come across Dr. Jil Tardiff (UA Sarver Heart Center) and the Sarnoff Foundation, leading to a research year at Stanford University in Dr. Joe Wu’s cardiac basic science lab,” said Dr. Heiler. “Having a mentor like Dr. Tardiff helped me navigate medical school and the cardiac world. Her guidance and assistance have been invaluable. She deeply inspired me as I begin my career.”

Chelsea Marshall, MD, a Tucson native, will move to Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale to pursue internal medicine residency. “I definitely have a passion for cardiology and am interested in pursuing further training in cardiovascular disease. The physiology of the heart is a topic that has always intrinsically made sense to me and excited me. Many of my most significant patient encounters and fun learning experiences have been while working with Sarver Heart Center cardiologists,” Dr. Marshall said.

Luis Paulino, MD matched to University of South Florida’s internal medicine residency program, which means a homecoming for this newly graduated doctor who was born in the Dominican Republic, but raised in Pembroke Pines, Fla.

After rotating through the cardiology service during his third and fourth years of medical school, Dr. Paulino realized the reasons he decided to pursue a career in medicine were exemplified by this specialty. “A career in cardiology will allow me to develop long-standing relationships with my patients while at the same time offering a wide range of versatile tools and skills to best address my patient’s health needs,” Dr. Paulino said.

Click here to read more about each medical school graduate who was selected to receive the 2021 Zenas B. Noon Award for Excellence in Cardiology.

UA Cancer Center earns national accreditation for breast centers

The National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), a quality program administered by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) has granted accreditation to the University of Arizona Cancer Center. 

Accreditation by the NAPBC is granted only to those programs that are committed to and demonstrate compliance with the NAPBC standards addressing leadership, clinical services, research, community outreach, professional education and quality improvement for patients. The NAPBC provides the structure and resources to develop and operate a high-quality breast center and accredited program. Breast centers seeking NAPBC accreditation undergo a site visit every three years. 

AZ HEROES Study

This study stands for Arizona Healthcare, Emergency Response and Other Essential workers Surveillance. AZ HEROES is  funded by the CDC  and focuses on COVID-19  infection and immune response in individuals on the frontline of this pandemic. English and Spanish-speaking individuals with and without prior COVID-19 diagnosis can enroll.

Study activities include:

• Weekly surveillance through short surveys and at-home COVID-19 tests, with additional tests if they become ill
• Complete surveys about their COVID-19 history, risks and occupational exposure three times
• Go  to Sonora Quest for a blood draw three to four times to test for antibodies

Participants will receive:

• Access to COVID-19 test results
• New information and updates on COVID-19 
• Pride that comes with advancing the science of COVID-19
• Entry into weekly raffles based on study compliance for the chance to win 1 of 5 $50 cash gift cards each week of the study

Please note that this study is inclusive to individuals: 

• Between 18 and 85 years old
• Meet one of these requirements:
  • Work at least 20 hours per week in health care, as a first responder, front-line/essential worker (retail, hospitality, facilities, government, etc.) OR
  • Part-time college student (at least 6 units) and work at least 10 hours per week
• Can speak English or Spanish
• Have not received the COVID-19 vaccine or have been vaccinated within the last 14 days

For more information, click here.

For a listing of education opportunities, visit Pima County Medical Society's CME page by clicking here or Programs/Events page by clicking here.