UNLV gets $1.7M grant to continue COVID-19 contact tracing
The UNLV School of Public Health announced Wednesday it received a $1.7 million state grant to continue providing COVID-19 contact tracing.
A group of public health graduate student volunteers formed UNLV’s contact tracing team in March. In late September, the university announced it received a $3.4 million state grant to expand the program, a partnership with the Southern Nevada Health District.
Now, about 200 UNLV students from multiple academic areas have been hired and are paid for their work on the team. At least 16 languages are represented among them.
“Since the earliest days of the pandemic, our students have been at the forefront of helping to stop the spread of COVID-19 in our community,” School of Public Health Dean Shawn Gerstenberger said in a news release. “Contact tracing remains crucial, and we are proud to be able to continue this necessary program at UNLV.”
UNLV epidemiologist Brian Labus, who also serves on Gov. Steve Sisolak’s COVID-19 medical advisory team, is the principal investigator for the state grant.
Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.
