Coronavirus

E. John Wherry of the Perelman School of Medicine said a person’s immunity to COVID-19 depends on “the number of exposures [to the spike protein], and time since last exposure.”

Courtney Boen of the School of Arts & Sciences and Carolyn Cannuscio of the Perelman School of Medicine wrote an opinion piece arguing that the blame for school closures should be placed on policymakers, not educators. “Only when we stem the tide of infections and flatten the curve will schools be able to function,” they wrote.

E. John Wherry of the Perelman School of Medicine commented on a study from the CDC that compared the efficacy of vaccines and prior infections in preventing COVID-19. “The bottom-line message is that from symptomatic COVID infection you do generate some immunity," said Wherry. “But it’s still much safer to get your immunity from vaccination than from infection.”

Michael David of the Perelman School of Medicine explained why there are few concrete guidelines regarding asymptomatic COVID-19 infections. “Currently, there are no data available to define ‘asymptomatic,’ which can be different in different people, given that many have chronic respiratory symptoms as baseline, from congestive heart failure to allergies,” he said.

David Rubin of the Perelman School of Medicine co-developed new proposed guidelines for managing COVID-19 in schools, which include ending testing for asymptomatic children. “The issues around prolonging social isolation or continuing to deny access to in-person education are so far greater than the risk of the virus itself. Not just to the children but to their families themselves, particularly now that people can get vaccinated,” he said.

PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel advocated for a new approach to managing the pandemic that emphasizes living with the virus rather than eradicating it. The approach includes improving air filtration, mask compliance, and vaccine distribution, and developing more antiviral therapies.

Susan Ellenberg of the Perelman School of Medicine said understanding comorbidities can reveal different populations’ risk of disease. “A comorbidity may contribute to the severity of the disease under consideration ... but the underlying cause of death would not be the comorbidity,” she said.

Marion Leary of the School of Nursing and her high school-age daughter, Harper, debated the merits of in-person schooling during the omicron surge. “There is no denying that in-person learning is paramount for kids academically and socially, but it is our responsibility as parents and educators to make the hard choices,” argued Leary.