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Coronavirus
In the U.S., COVID-19 wasn’t sole cause of excess deaths in 2020
Comparing death rates in the United States with those of the five biggest European countries, Penn and Max Planck demographers found that significant excess mortality cost more lives annually than the epidemic itself.
COVID communications and first generation students
Marcus Wright, undergraduate program manager and academic coordinator in the Department of Sociology and doctoral student at the Graduate School of Education, analyzes academic messaging to expose blind spots.
An approach to COVID-19 vaccination equity for Black neighborhoods
A new paper centers racial equity and address the structural barriers that have prevented Black and other underrepresented minority communities from being vaccinated against COVID-19 at equitable rates.
How young athletes can safely return to sports after COVID-19
Sports medicine experts at Penn worked with school districts to develop a protocol for student athletes to safely return to competitive sports, and the strenuous exercise levels associated with those activities.
Understanding and addressing barriers to COVID vaccine acceptance
Different communities have different reasons for wanting to wait on this shot. Getting to the heart of those concerns can help meet people where they are.
David S. Roos on the future of COVID-19
The E. Otis Kendall Professor of Biology and infectious disease specialist discusses the virus, its variants, and vaccines in a Q&A.
The power of architecture to address public health and environmental crises
Two new studies, one on UV sterilization in occupied rooms and another on radiative cooling, show how architecture can help create interior spaces that are both COVID-safe and energy-efficient.
Anxiety in a post-COVID world
A return to the next normal post-pandemic may trigger anxiety for people anticipating a more public-facing life after a year of isolation.
MaskUPenn: A year of mask-wearing in pictures
Following CDC guidelines and campus mandates, the Penn community put their best face coverings forward for a masked photo series.
Penn Medicine finds viral variants of concern in over a third of latest COVID-19 samples
Experts call on the public to continue masking, social distancing, and other protection efforts to prevent spread and further mutation of the virus.
In the News
After four years with COVID-19, the U.S. is settling into a new approach to respiratory virus season
Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center says that the sense of urgency around vaccination has faded as attention on respiratory viruses wanes.
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The mRNA miracle workers
Nobel laureates Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine appear on “Sunday Morning” to discuss their careers, their mRNA research, and the COVID-19 vaccines.
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Paul Offit looks back on COVID-19, misinformation, and how public health lost the public’s trust in new book
“Tell Me When It’s Over,” a new book by Paul Offit of the Perelman School of Medicine, chronicles the initial years of the COVID-19 pandemic and the mishaps of public health agencies. Recent surveys by the Annenberg Public Policy Center find that mistrust of vaccines has continued to grow through last fall.
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Review of COVID death stats finds likely undercount in official numbers
A paper co-authored by Penn researchers found that COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. were likely undercounted in official statistics during the first 30 months of the pandemic.
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You should still get the COVID-19 vaccine. The Nobel Prize winner who helped discover it explains why
Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine, who won the Nobel Prize along with Katalin Karikó, discusses the backlash against vaccinations and whether to receive the latest COVID vaccine.
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Flu surges in the Southeast
A survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center found that more than a third of people are concerned about either themselves or one of their family members contracting either the flu, COVID-19, or RSV.
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