Vetted and collected by our Medical Anthropology & Epidemiology Team
Updated February 19, 2020
Previous COVID News posts are available in our COVID News Archive
You are now protected against symptomatic disease for three months.
After receiving two COVID-19 vaccinations do you still need to wear a mask in public and around others, especially the most vulnerable?
YES absolutely. To protect others against COVID-19 infection you must mask up. For more faqs and essential bits of info on your vaccination, download our Now That You’re Vaccinated quick reference sheet (in English and Spanish).
For more on vaccines, please reference our vaccine slide deck and download our post-vaccine one-sheet to help answer “what now” after you get your vaccine.
New York Times “Why Vaccines Alone Will Not End the Pandemic” By Matthew Conlen, Denise Lu and James Glanz, Jan. 24, 2021
Coronaviruses, like other viruses, mutate as they are transmitted from person to person.
Most mutations thus far have not been observed to cause a more severe illness, but three may be more easily transmitted: variants from the UK (B.1.1.7), South Africa, and Brazil.
At present, the variant from the UK is our greatest concern as it has already reached our shores.
For this reason, the public is being advised to redouble their efforts to wear snug fitting masks (with no gaps on the sides). This holds true whether you choose to wear single or double masks. Always choose masks with adjustable side straps. In environments of heighted risk, wear a snug fitting and FDA-approved KN95 mask, if available*
New York Times, “Inside the B.1.1.7 Coronavirus Variant” By Jonathan Corum and Carl Zimmer, Jan. 18, 2021
Jay Park MD How to spot counterfeit (fake) N95, NIOSH, or KN95 respirator mask from China
As a nurse (Karin) and a public health professional married to a healthcare worker (Heather), we both knew in March of 2020 that the world’s healthcare workers and their families were about to encounter an overwhelming challenge. They would need all the support they...
Kaya Dreifuss, the 11-year-old daughter of two of HCW HOSTED's founders, Drs. Brad and Heather Dreifuss, became the first donor to HCW HOSTED, Inc. on June 20, 2020 when she donated $67. Kaya raised the money by making and selling several lavender pouches to be given...
Congratulations on getting your COVID-19 vaccine! Thank you for doing your part to move our community one step closer to healthy. Now that you're vaccinated, you may have questions about what to expect and what you should do next. Our HCW HOSTED Epidemiology &...
One of the primary roles of HCW HOSTED is advocacy for healthcare workers, broadly defined.1 High on our list, beyond advocating for support services and resources for healthcare workers, is advocating for public policies and social norms that prevent the health care...
At present, we are facing not just a COVID-19 pandemic, but also an infodemic. We are inundated with a steady flow of information about COVID-19 that often appears overwhelming. Much of the information is highly technical and packed with statistics that are difficult...
A primary goal of HCW HOSTED is to provide safe quarantined housing for healthcare workers exposed to COVID-19 to reduce risk of exposure to families, loved ones, and colleagues at limited expense.
As of November 2020, we have facilitated housing for 35 healthcare workers for periods of 2 days to 5 months, providing them a safe space to live while they mitigate the spread of COVID-19 to their families. The typical stay has been 24 days.
Depending on the healthcare worker’s needs they are placed in local hotels or in homes provided by generous community members.
HCW HOSTED offers free mental health and wellness support to healthcare workers enrolled in the program. Healthcare workers may experience significant physical, psychological, social and financial stress while responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
These stressors are complicated by being physically distanced from loved ones and normal routines of coping.
Healthcare workers trained in the Assisting Individuals in Crisis program through International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, Inc. and the University of Arizona Resilience in Stressful Events (R.I.S.E.) program are peer coaches who help other healthcare workers move through short term crises and to encourage and identify effective coping mechanisms.
As of November 2020, we have offered emotional support services to 51 healthcare workers.
Every day, registered healthcare workers receive a 2-3 minute survey via text or email to check on their last work shift, COVID-19 symptoms, stress level, and sleep quality. HCW HOSTED staff check on healthcare workers when changes in their baseline daily monitoring occur.
As of November 2020, we have provided daily monitoring services to 49 healthcare workers and counting.
In the first phase of our existence, we have focused on smaller trials of services, refining our understanding of what services healthcare workers want. During this phase, we offered services to 135 Tucson healthcare workers.
We continue to offer those services locally as we develop a technological platform that can be used in communities around the globe to allow employers to contract for the services and connections in their local communities that will support the physical and emotional well-being of their employees.
Services sign up form will open in a new tab.
HCW HOSTED advocates for: 1) bringing healthcare worker voices and experiences to the public’s attention, 2) providing resources to keep healthcare workers and their families safe, and 3) promoting evidence-based policies that protect healthcare workers and the communities they serve. We believe in elevating the voices of healthcare workers, ensuring that those voices are a prominent part of the public conversation about the pandemic.
The Healthcare Worker Memorial is both a live event that we hosted on October 11, 2020 and an ongoing digital memorial for the U.S. healthcare workers who have died of COVID-19.
Healthcare Voices is a series of short articles from frontline healthcare workers talking about their experiences in the pandemic. You are invited to add your voice to the series, anonymously or credited.
The Health Citizen Pledge is a set of concrete, actionable steps that the general public can commit to taking to get the pandemic under control–and a call to our government and elected officials to do their part.
HOSTED in the News collects local, national, and international media appearances by HCW HOSTED team members, including the New York Times, BBC Newshour, Univision, and KGUN9 Tucson.
Because COVID-19 is a new disease, information about it evolves continually. Our Medical Anthropology & Epidemiology Team reviews, evaluates, and compiles COVID-19 information as it emerges so that we can help you find current and accurate information about the pandemic.
We have categorized information into several categories for your convenience.
Staying Safe at Home and in the World covers the latest in COVID-19 prevention and management information for a general audience.
Healthcare Workers & COVID covers the mental and physical health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers.
Our COVID Overview discusses some of the most recent research on COVID-19 from evidence-based published and unpublished sources.
In Additional Resources, we provide links to other sites you may find useful.
We are healthcare workers & their family members, anthropologists, public health professionals, psychologists, epidemiologists, business professionals, and concerned community members.
We serve the whole healthcare team: from nurses to doctors to respiratory techs to EVS workers, CNAs, case managers, and all the healthcare team members who make frontline healthcare possible.
