abeth Franzmann, in the Department of Otolaryngology. »
Further advance a vaccine platform developed by Dr. Natasa Strbo, in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.
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Test whether convalescent plasma treatments in COVID-19 patients—and in outpatients who may be exposed to COVID-19— are effective to fight off the disease or to prevent it entirely.
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Determine whether inhaled nitric oxide can help stabilize COVID-19 patients in need of oxygen support—a clinical trial that is being done by Dr. Roger Argelio Alvarez, an assistant professor of pulmonology.
All of these treatment efforts will help physicians continue to advocate for their patients during what will likely be a challenging winter, said Carrasquillo, who has treated many people suffering from COVID-19. “Over the past several months, we learned a lot more about how to treat these patients. We had a lower mortality in July than we did in April, and every little bit helps,” he said. “But for prevention there was no hope, yet listening to the data from Pfizer and Moderna, I can see a light at the end of tunnel. A vaccine is not going to happen immediately—we are still months away—but I am hopeful that by next summer we will be in a different place than we are now.”
COURSE EXPLORES GLOBAL HEALTH AND DISPARITIES DURING THE PANDEMIC Written by Barbara Gutierrez Published on August 26, 2020 Category: University of Miami President, Faculty Students enrolled in a public health class will examine how countries reacted, or failed to react, to COVID-19 to protect their residents. The global COVID-19 pandemic has revealed crucial fissures in health care systems across the globe as well as the vulnerability of marginalized groups whose fragile societal standing—poor nutrition, substandard housing, and lack of access to health care to name a few—have made them easy victims to the virus. A course at the University of Miami, “Introduction to Global Health: Effective Responses to Hemispheric Challenges,” will explore how the pandemic has affected various areas of the globe, with a focus on the cur-
rent challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean. The class is being taught by President Julio Frenk, a medical doctor and global health expert, who is the former minister of health for Mexico; Felicia Marie Knaul, a health economist whose career includes key positions in government in Mexico and Colombia and who is the director of the University’s Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas and a faculty member at the Miller School of Medicine; and Michael Touchton, associate professor of political science who has studied governance and public health in Latin America throughout his career. “The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed clear divides between the
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