Coronavirus Research

Why the Vaccine Safety Reporting System should be renamed

VAERS, the federal health system for reporting “adverse events” after vaccination, is designed to assist in the early detection of complications and responsive action. But the flood of social media references to the system during the COVID-19 pandemic created confusion.

From the Annenberg Public Policy Center

You think you have long COVID: What now?

Penn Medicine’s long COVID clinic assists patients with an array of symptoms including persistent fatigue, difficulty breathing, insomnia, and “brain fog.”

From Penn Medicine News

Guaranteed income improved people’s health during the pandemic

Associate professor Amy Castro of the School of Social Policy & Practice shares the final results from the Stockton pilot program, which show connections between financial security and better health.

From the School of Social Policy & Practice Juliana Rosati

Why COVID misinformation continues to spread

Penn Medicine’s Anish Agarwal discusses why false claims about the virus and vaccines arise and persist, plus what he hopes will come from NIH-funded research he and Penn Engineering’s Sharath Chandra Guntuku have recently begun.

Michele W. Berger



In the News


Philadelphia Business Journal

Philadelphia life sciences jobs being filled more by women than men, study finds

Jean Bennett, Katalin Karikó, and Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine are noted for their advancements in gene therapy and mRNA technology.

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ABC27 (Harrisburg)

COVID death rate higher for young people

A Penn analysis discovered that people aged 25-54 had a higher COVID death rate than people 55 and older.

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Philadelphia Inquirer

Penn scientists are honored for mRNA research used in COVID vaccines

Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine have been named to the National Inventors Hall of Fame for their research on mRNA vaccines.

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U.S. News & World Report

For pregnant women and their newborns, COVID vaccine offers better protection than prior infection

Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia found that COVID vaccinations provide more robust protection for pregnant mothers than COVID infection, with a quote from CHOP’s Dustin Flannery.

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Philadelphia Inquirer

Paul Offit, Philly’s most vocal vaccine advocate, on science, truth, and why he’s not a fan of the latest COVID boosters

A profile examines the life and career of the Perelman School of Medicine’s Paul Offit, from his advocacy for vaccines to his criticism of FDA attitudes toward the new bivalent boosters.

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NPR

Are the new boosters that target omicron better than the previous shots?

John Wherry of the Perelman School of Medicine says that bivalent vaccines are not providing perfect protection from omicron variants.

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