11/15
Coronavirus
Chewing to curb COVID
Penn Medicine will conduct a new clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a chewing gum designed by School of Dental Medicine researchers to trap SARS-CoV-2 in the saliva.
Five things to know about COVID-19 protocols for the fall semester
In an effort to keep everyone within the Penn community healthy, Benoit Dubé, Penn’s chief wellness officer, says it is critical that University students, staff, and faculty adhere to the recommended public health guidelines.
‘Trusted messengers’ distill science, debunk myths about COVID-19 vaccine
VaxUpPhillyFamilies, led by Penn’s School of Nursing, engages Philadelphia parents and caregivers as vaccine ambassadors to identify concerns and provide support related to COVID-19 vaccines, increase vaccine uptake, and address social support needs.
Testing, treatments, and more: A glossary for year three of the pandemic
Penn Today adds a new installment to this series aimed at making sense of the language around COVID-19.
How to navigate another summer of COVID-19
John Wherry of the Perelman School of Medicine and Melanie Kornides of the School of Nursing stress the continued importance of vaccination and testing.
Children younger than 5 eligible for COVID-19 vaccines
In a Q&A, Lori Handy of Penn Medicine and CHOP discusses what it means now that this final group can get protection, plus offers recommendations for families with concerns about doing so.
University of Pennsylvania’s first NFT commemorates mRNA research
Proceeds from the July auction of the non-fungible token—a digital asset—will benefit ongoing research at Penn.
Frontline voices from the pandemic’s early days
In his new book, “The Wuhan Lockdown,” Guobin Yang uses personal diaries from that city’s residents to recreate how it felt at the epicenter of what was then a scary and unknown new virus.
COVID mortality age patterns changed significantly during pandemic
Between March 2020 and October 2021, death rates from the virus decreased for those 80 and older and increased for those 25 to 54, results that held across racial and ethnic groups.
From a pandemic, scientific insights poised to impact more than just COVID-19
Pivoting to study SARS-CoV-2, many scientists on campus have launched new research projects that address the challenges of the pandemic but also prepare us to confront future challenges.
In the News
Column: How a blunder by a respected medical journal is fueling an anti-vaccine lie
Jeffrey S. Morris of the Perelman School of Medicine says that even with a 100% effective vaccine, there would have been high levels of morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 in 2021.
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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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