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Stay up to date with the latest news on the coronavirus and COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. We'll post regular updates from NPR and regional news from the WRVO newsroom. You can also find updates on our live blog.

This week: Potential COVID-19 vaccine, new transplant formula

Upstate Medical University is seeking individuals to participate in a clinical trial evaluating the safety and performance of a potential vaccine against COVID-19.

On this week’s “HealthLink on Air,” Dr. Stephen Thomas chief of infectious disease at Upstate, explains what participants can expect and goes over how vaccines are developed. The decision whether to participate in a trial is a personal one, but Thomas says “individuals who volunteer for this study will help advance our understanding of whether this vaccine has the potential to protect people and work toward ending the pandemic.”

For more information send an email to trials@upstate.edu or call 315-464-9869.

Also on this week's show, a doctor who specializes in kidney transplants discusses common complications tied to anti-rejection medications. Dr. Oleh Pankewycz, a professor of medicine at Upstate, developed a formula that helps adjust medication dosages to reduce complications. He and a team of transplant surgeons, nurse coordinators, students and researchers from Upstate's Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine published a paper recently that details this formula in the journal Clinical Transplantation. Listen this Sunday, August 16 at 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. for "HealthLink on Air."

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