5/18
Penn in the News
A round-up of Penn mentions in local, national, and international media.
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Penn In the News
CDC asks latest to plan for potential vaccine distribution starting in late October
Paul Offit of the Perelman School of Medicine said it’s unlikely that a coronavirus vaccine will be ready by the end of the year given that Phase 3 trials have only just begun. Furthermore, he said, insufficient trials could damage not only public health but public trust in vaccines.
Penn In the News
The old rules were dumb anyway
Linda Aiken of the School of Nursing spoke said rules that prevent nurses from working in other states without a new license are out of date. “We have the same technology in every state. Patients are the same. They have the same problems. Everybody has babies everywhere,” she said.
Penn In the News
End-of-life planning is a ‘lifetime gift’ to your loved ones
Pallavi Kumar of the Perelman School of Medicine said the most important medical decision one can make is assigning a medical proxy as part of an advance directive. "Think about the person in your life who understands you, your goals, your values, your priorities and then is able to set aside their own wishes and be a voice for you," she said.
Penn In the News
Absent from stimulus packages: Overhauling energy, climate programs
Ioana Marinescu of the School of Social Policy & Practice said it’s a good time for governments to invest in climate change solutions. “Sometimes it takes a good crisis to finally move in a whole new direction just like the New Deal,” she said.
Penn In the News
Phase One frenzies; provocative predictions; the bread boom
Mary Frances Berry of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about predictions she made back in March about how the coronavirus pandemic would change the world. Berry reiterated her initial prediction that society will crave more distraction and entertainment in the aftermath of the crisis.
Penn In the News
For cancer patients, anguish grows over deferred surgery as risk rises
Ravi Parikh of the Perelman School of Medicine said the consequences of deferred medical treatments will play out of the next few months and years. “The No. 1 thing that I'm concerned about is the backlog of cases,” he said. “When there's this onslaught of appointments, surgeries, colonoscopies, chemotherapy appointments, it's not going to be at a slow pace.”
Penn In the News
Are there zombie viruses—like the 1918 flu—thawing in the permafrost?
Michael Zimmerman of the School of Arts & Sciences said the possibility of reviving long frozen pathogens is “extremely unlikely.”
Penn In the News
When will it be safe to go back in the water?
Alison Buttenheim of the School of Nursing joined a conversation about how the U.S. might recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
Penn In the News
Her incredible sense of smell is helping scientists find new ways to diagnose disease
Richard Doty of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about the use of scent signaling in diagnosing disease. “It used to be that physicians did use breath odor and other odors, to signify certain disorders. But that’s not really invoked presently, because we have so much better ways of [diagnosing] things,” he said.
Penn In the News
USA Swimming to settle sex abuse lawsuit filed by former Olympian
Marci Hamilton of the School of Arts and Sciences spoke about California’s increased penalties for covering up instances of sexual abuse. “They are permitting treble damages, which is to say whatever damages the victim can prove showing the harm that was done, you multiply that times three, if there was a coverup,” she said.