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Penn in the News
A round-up of Penn mentions in local, national, and international media.
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Penn In the News
Think you’re young and safe from COVID-19? Your immune system might disagree
Christopher Hunter of the School of Veterinary Medicine said young people are at risk of developing a cytokine storm in response to COVID-19. “While the vast majority of young people are going to be fine, we’re seeing reports here and there of when this isn’t going to be the case,” he said.
Penn In the News
When it comes to coronavirus, air pollution may put marginalized communities in danger
Anil Vachani of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about the combined effects of air pollution and coronavirus on marginalized communities. “We’re certainly recognizing that exposure to chronic air pollution results in a number of adverse health outcomes which are increasingly recognized. It may even contribute to a whole host of other illnesses that we’re now understanding the links to, to poor air quality and air pollution,” he said.
Penn In the News
In pandemic, word definitions shift and new lexicon emerges
Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center spoke about the use of jargon in public health communications. “They are incomprehensible to many in the public,” she said. “Public health officials need to translate their technical language into intelligible language.”
Penn In the News
Why the push for a quick coronavirus vaccine could backfire
Paul Offit of the Perelman School of Medicine expressed concern over calls to quickly push a coronavirus vaccine through safety testing. “People are so scared of coronavirus that even those who are young and healthy will be willing to take a relatively untested product—even though the wild-type virus is unlikely to kill them,” he said.
Penn In the News
When it comes to vice presidential candidates, there's a lot at stake for Biden and Sanders
Dan Hopkins of the School of Arts and Sciences spoke about the supposed hometown advantage presidential candidates may have when choosing a running mate from that state. “What I found is that presidential candidates used to enjoy a sizable electoral bonus in the state that they were from, but that has declined over time,” he said. “Vice presidential candidates never generated quite that much bonus, but whatever bonus they did generate is now indistinguishable from zero and maybe, on average, about half a percentage point.”
Penn In the News
As COVID-19 bears down, doctors confront difficult choices on elective surgeries
Lewis Kaplan of the Perelman School of Medicine said it makes sense that the CDC has recommended postponing elective surgeries. “It frees up beds and equipment and also frees up clinicians,” he said. “If you are not using the anesthesiologist or nurse or the [gastrointestinal] suite, or the [intensive care] suite nurse, they can be recast as you need if you have large scale influxes of patients.”
Penn In the News
Coronavirus paid sick leave bill ‘does not go far enough’ and leaves many workers unprotected, economists warn
Ioana Marinescu of the School of Social Policy & Practice spoke about the role of paid sick leave in preventing the spread of COVID-19. “Not paying sick leave may allow some businesses to stay afloat, instead of laying off everybody and therefore lowering employment,” she said. “But on the other hand this would spread the epidemic more, further compromising the economy and threatening the same businesses.”
Penn In the News
LAX coronavirus screenings are haphazard, travelers say. Experts say they’re futile
Carolyn Cannuscio of the Perelman School of Medicine commented on the crowded holding areas for international travelers awaiting health screenings at U.S. airports. “This to me is the very definition of what we should not be doing,” she said. “We’re creating a risk there, and we’re very likely to miss people who are in fact infected and may also be transmitting the virus but haven’t yet had symptoms.”
Penn In the News
How long will Americans be fighting the coronavirus?
Michael Levy of the Perelman School of Medicine said it’s unlikely that Americans will be able to maintain social distancing long term. “I don’t think we can maintain social distancing as it is right now for the duration of the epidemic,” he said.
Penn In the News
Coronavirus outbreak revives dangerous race myths and pseudoscience
PIK Professor Dorothy Roberts spoke about misinformation regarding race and public health, such as the myth that black people are immune to coronavirus. “These myths have a track record not just of shaping attitudes but of shaping policy and practice in public and private spaces, in hospitals and in schools, in workplaces, too,” she said.