Des Moines Register
Thousands of Iowans potentially escaped being hospitalized with COVID-19, or worse, after being treated by experimental monoclonal antibodies.
The treatment arrived in Iowa in mid-November, shortly after it received emergency approval by federal regulators, and it has shown promising results in keeping Iowans sick with COVID-19 from the direst of outcomes.
The treatment isn’t for everyone who tests positive for the coronavirus. It is generally reserved for people with a higher risk of hospitalization or more dire outcomes from the virus.
And while its first deployment came during a spike of COVID-19 illnesses in Iowa, and preceded the decline in cases, it’s not as simple as cause and effect, MercyOne Dr. Casey Rice said.
NHGRI appoints Oleg Shchelochkov as intramural training program director
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Dr. Shchelochkov will oversee the research training, fellowship and residency programs at the institute.
The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has appointed Oleg Shchelochkov, M.D., as the new director of Clinical and Laboratory Residencies and Fellowships.
Dr. Shchelochkov, a clinical geneticist and medical biochemical geneticist, takes the position with over a decade of experience teaching and training young professionals. He has been part of the NHGRI research community since 2015, starting as a staff clinician. Until recently, he was an associate research physician studying many aspects of organic acidemias.
02/25/21
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics administrators say they will continue to push for a new North Liberty hospital despite being thwarted in their first effort for approval from the state.
The Daily Iowan reports that during an hour-long presentation before the State Board of Regents, Vice President for Medical Affairs Brooks Jackson said the University of Iowa is still pursing the project. He called the State Health Council’s narrow 3-2 vote against the facility disappointing, but not unexpected.
The application was for a $230 million four-story facility which would include up to 36 inpatient rooms, up to 16 operating rooms, and an ER. It has been opposed by private health care givers like Mercy Iowa City and Unity Point Health, who believe such a facility could spell the eventual end of their business.
2/25/21
Officials from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics are warning residents to beware of a COVID-19 vaccination scam.
According to a news release from UI Health Care, officials have been made aware of a scam in which the caller pretends to be calling on behalf of the UIHC to schedule a COVID-19 vaccination. The caller than asks for a social security number and credit card number to cover administrative fees.
UI Health Care officials say they will never ask for such information to schedule a vaccination, and if individuals receive this call, they should hang up immediately.