The following article summarizes the original event which is listed below the summary.
About those vaccines
On November 10, one day after Pfizer announced preliminary results for their COVID-19 vaccine, Timothy Schacker, MD, was our featured speaker for UMRA A.M. He talked about the current efforts to develop, test, and distribute vaccines to prevent more infections. Dr. Schacker is an infectious disease specialist and vice dean for Research in the University of Minnesota Medical School.
Soon after learning of the COVID-19 outbreak, the U’s Office of the Vice President for Research mobilized Rapid Response Grants in the range of $10,000 to $20,000 each, to catalyze basic science and small-scale research related to the pandemic. More than $818,000 was awarded for 75 proposals in areas including pathogenetics, engineering, epidemiology, immunology, public health, point-of-care testing, and care improvement.
One project funded the design of a diagnostic nasal swab test that within three months was being used 10,000 times per day. Another project focused on the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in municipal wastewater, as a means of an early warning system, in 44 sites around the state.
One of the most notable achievements
It was on January 5, 2020 that the first reports of the unusual pneumonia found in Wuhan, China, arrived. Ten days later, the genetic sequence of the virus was published, and just 300 days later more than 90,000 people were enrolled in Phase 3 trials of vaccines to prevent COVID-19.
Dr. Schacker described this as one of the most notable achievements in medical history. The average time to develop vaccines for other infectious diseases including polio, HPV, and chicken pox was 11 years. He expressed confidence in the new vaccines, which look to be more than 90 percent effective.
Broad distribution is expected to begin early in 2021, but until we reach “herd immunity,” Dr. Schacker reminded us, we’ll all need to continue to wash hands, maintain distance, and wear masks.
—Jan Morlock, UMRA president-elect and Program Committee chair
UMRA A.M | The quest for a vaccine
Tue, November 10 2020, 9am
Timothy Schacker, MD
Vice Dean for Research
U of M Medical School
Event to be held via Zoom.
It feels like everyone is holding their breath for the development of a vaccine that can help to free us from the grip of the coronavirus pandemic. For most of us not involved in research, we wonder what it takes to find a vaccine that’s safe and effective. What are the challenges in making it widely available and accepted by enough of us to break the grip of this disease? And what are researchers and clinicians at the University of Minnesota doing related to this quest to get through the pandemic?
Please register and join us for this Zoom webinar on November 10 at 9 a.m.
Timothy Schacker, MD, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Minnesota Medical School, is a leader in this effort.
You are invited to join Dr. Timothy Schacker for an eye-opening UMRA A.M. on Tuesday, November 10. Dr. Schacker will be introduced by UMRA President Frank Cerra, MD, former U of M Medical School dean and senior vice president for Health Sciences.
Current efforts underway
Dr. Schacker will talk about the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the multifaceted approach that has been used to diagnose, treat, and prevent COVID-19, and he will highlight the current efforts underway to develop, test, and distribute a vaccine to prevent infection.
In addition to his role as a professor of medicine and director of the U’s Program in HIV Medicine, Dr. Schacker is vice dean for research in the Medical School. After receiving his MD from the University in 1986, he completed a residency in internal medicine at the Oregon Health Sciences University and an infectious disease fellowship at the University of Washington. He joined the U of M faculty in 1996.
Dr. Schacker has been named one of the Best Doctors in America (twice) and a Top Doctor by Minneapolis-St. PaulMagazine.
—Jan Morlock, UMRA president-elect and Program Committee chair
Upcoming Events
We are fortunate to have UMRA member and former Minnesota Landscape Arboretum director Peter Moe to lead this approximately 3.7-mile hike at the Arboretum on Monday, May 6. Plan to have lunch together after the hike at the Eatery café inside the Oswald Visitor Center.
This session will continue the discussion begun in the May 8, 2023 session. See that article for details.
If you currently live in your own home or apartment, have you looked ahead to when you might want to consider a senior living option? Do you have any idea what those options might be? How much they cost? What they provide? UMRA’s May 14 workshop will provide an overview of the world of senior living and the basic information you need.
You’re invited to join the final Family History Interest Group meeting for 2023–24. This will be an opportunity to ask questions related to family history, share insights, talk about recent projects, and suggest topics for next year.
Stephanie Daily will lead the discussion of Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by best-selling author Mary Roach when the UMRA Book Club meets via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 17.
The May 20 hike will start at the Historic Lift Bridge in Stillwater and go along the river to the new bridge, cross over and then back on the Wisconsin side, a total of approximately 5 miles. Most of the route is paved. We will eat lunch after at Brian's Bar and Grill in Stillwater. Car pooling will be available.
Climatologist and meteorologist Mark Seeley joined the U of M faculty in 1978 and has been a weekly commentator on Minnesota Public Radio since 1992. We are honored to welcome him as our guest speaker for UMRA’s May Luncheon Forum and 2024 Annual Meeting. He is always entertaining and informative.
UMRA’s Fourth Friday Book Club welcomes back, for the second time, author Julie Schumacher, U of M Regents professor of creative writing and English, for a conversation about her novel The Shakespeare Requirement.
We are in for a treat on June 3! Lynn Anderson, will lead us on trails at two parks near her Monticello home. Bring a bag lunch and we will gather in Lynn's yard along the Mississippi River for eating and socializing after the hike.
Get out to the ballpark with fellow UMRA members for the annual U of M Day at Target Field as the Minnesota Twins take on the Oakland Athletics on June 14 at 7:10 p.m.
Please join us at 9:30 on June 17, 2024 for a walk around Lake Como in St. Paul before attending the UMRA Summer Social and Picnic starting at 11 at the Como Pavilion. A perfect opportunity to get in a walk before we gather to celebrate summer.
Picnic under the covered, open-air Como pavilion, gaze at the water, spy some birds, catch up with friends and former colleagues, and meet new members. We’ll have lunch with plenty of time for visiting and then compete in teams as we are challenged by our Quiz master(s)!
Healthy aging, mindfulness, fighting ageism, and more will be the focus of the third annual Age-Friendly University Day to be held on the U of M Twin Cities campus.