“What are we looking at and how long is this going to go on?” said Vineet Menachery, a coronavirus specialist at the University of Texas Medical Branch. “Is this just how we have to deal with it going forward or is there some relief in sight? I think the honest answer is, we just don’t know. We haven’t seen anything quite like this.”

The Houston Public Media radio program featured Dr. Susan McLellan, Medical Director of the Bio-containment Treatment Unit and Director of Bio-safety for Research-Related Infectious Pathogens at UTMB.

In a recent study posted to the bioRxiv preprint server, researchers assessed the neutralization of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant after messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccination. UTMB’s Dr. Pei-Yong Shi is one of the authors of the study.

“Whether it’s called triggers or micro-triggers, we all certainly have things that set us off,” said Jeff Temple, a psychologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch, who adds that sometimes even dreading those transitions can be triggering. “There’s anticipatory anxiety, which is anxiety about being anxious, as opposed to actual things to be anxious about.”

New research shows that a needle-free mucosal bacteriophage (phage) T4-based COVID-19 vaccine is effective against SARS-CoV-2 infection. One of the corresponding authors is Dr. Ashok K. Chopra, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Many international outlets also ran this story, including the Italian news site News Mondo.

The University of Texas Medical Branch School of Nursing will launch a nursing certificate program in January that aims to improve care for patients in rural areas where there are not enough professionals to care for these communities. “For telehealth to be a widely adopted solution across Texas, providers need resources, education and support to eliminate barriers and successfully implement telehealth tools into modern health care practice,” said Dr. Kristen Starnes-Ott, Vice Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor at UTMB School of Nursing.

For about three years, the Galveston Island Beach Patrol has been working toward a leadership program. Partnering with the Occupational Therapy team from the University of Texas Medical Branch, its leadership committee modified an existing program that was based on a program generated from a Navy SEAL team.

The Novavax vaccine is an excellent option for unvaccinated individuals hesitant or unable to receive the mRNA vaccines. Drs. Megan Berman and Richard Rupp explain why in this Vaccine Smarts column.

Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel summarize Florence Bell’s biography in this Medical News Discovery column.

“Studies have shown that both giving and receiving forgiveness can improve blood pressure, decrease symptoms of depression and anxiety, improved mental resilience and even improve our immune system and how we respond to illness,” writes Dr. Samuel Mathis