Landmark study investigates spread of COVID-19 among vaccinated college students.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Hundreds of students attending the University of Florida are taking part in a landmark study investigating the spread of COVID-19.

One thousand students will be vaccinated as part of a nationwide study involving more than 20,000 college students and 25,000 of their close contacts.

“By enrolling these participants and their close contacts our main objective is to find out if individuals who’ve been vaccinated can affect other individuals, can they shed enough that they cause illness in others as well,” said Dr. Kartik Cherabuddi, Principal Investigator of the study at UF.

The students will be randomly split in to two groups, one getting the vaccine as soon as possible, the other group will be offered the vaccine several weeks later.

Researchers said the results of the study could determine how long we need to continue preventive measures such as wearing masks and social distancing.

And a study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that people returning to work after a heart attack were more likely to have recurring coronary events when they spent 55 hours or more per week on the job.

The study also showed that non-standard forms of employment, including working from home, aggravated the ability to control the time spent on work.

Researchers said businesses with returning cardiac patients need to adopt programs to boost job retention and help with disease management.


About the Authors:

Kristi Krueger has built a solid reputation as an award-winning medical reporter and effervescent anchor. She joined Local 10 in August 1993. After many years co-anchoring the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m., Kristi now co-anchors the noon newscasts, giving her more time in the evening with her family.

Veteran journalist Kathleen Corso is the special projects producer for Local 10 News.