But their immune systems are another important factor, researchers say. “When you challenge a body with a virus or a vaccine, there’s just not the vigorous response,” said Cari Levy, a geriatrician who is a professor at the University of Colorado [School of Medicine].
“The last time we invested in this type of technology was 10 years ago,” said David Ross, associate dean for research at the Skaggs School. “It’s a once-in-a-decade advancement.” Anschutz Medical Campus researchers are studying novel diseases and determining what molecules could be put together to develop a drug that could treat those diseases.
“One research team has tried to make in yeast so you could grow cultures of yeasts similar to fermenting beer,” said David Kroll, Ph.D., a professor of pharmacology at the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus. He says finding a cure for coronavirus will be the biggest vaccine undertaking in recent medical history.
'Our study identified an impactful opportunity to improve the way we care for patients in skilled nursing facilities,' said paper author and rehabilitation scientist Allison Gustavson of University of Colorado's Anschutz Medical Campus. 'High-intensity resistance training is safe, effective and preferable in caring for medically complex older adults in skilled nursing facilities.'
Professor of Pediatrics Dr. Sean O’Leary with the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus/Children’s Hospital Colorado said he recommends the flu shot to anybody older than 6 months. He noted recent data that showed 71% of children 6 months old through 17 years old were vaccinated and 51% of people older than 18 were vaccinated. He said there's room for improvement for both age groups.
It’s not yet clear if young people, who accounted for a high percentage of new cases recently, are starting to get sick enough to need hospital care, or if they might have passed the virus to higher-risk age groups, said Beth Carlton, an associate professor of environmental and occupational health at the Colorado School of Public Health.
Some health systems enrolling patients in a trial of Moderna’s vaccine candidate are setting specific goals for minority participation. The University of Colorado School of Medicine aims to make minority communities 30 to 40 percent of its sample, it said in a press release.
“A single and coordinated strategy might have brought us to a different place,” says Dr. Jon Samet, dean of the Colorado School of Public Health. “Even within some states, counties may proceed independently. There is wide variation in the credence given to misinformation, some sourced from the Administration and even the President.”
