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Coronavirus

Dozens of health groups urge businesses to voluntarily adopt Biden’s vaccine rule

Dozens of health groups urge businesses to voluntarily adopt Biden’s vaccine rule

PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel coordinated a joint statement by dozens of health care associations calling on U.S. employers to voluntarily implement President Biden’s proposed vaccine-or-testing mandate. “We’re not getting [enough] volunteers coming forward” to get vaccinated, said Emanuel.

When should you get a COVID booster shot?

When should you get a COVID booster shot?

John Wherry of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about COVID-19 booster shots, saying that, in other vaccines more generally, antibody levels often stabilize better after a booster shoot is administered. “The question is: Does [the level of antibodies] settle at a higher level and at a more steady level than it did with the primary [COVID-19] vaccination?” Wherry said. “That’s the hope.”

Medical expert: Herd immunity remains best way to get handle on COVID-19 pandemic

Medical expert: Herd immunity remains best way to get handle on COVID-19 pandemic

Paul Offit of the Perelman School of Medicine said the U.S. may still be able to reach some form of herd immunity for COVID-19. “If you define herd immunity as a critical decrease in this virus’ ability to spread from one person to another, so much so that you have a dramatic decrease in hospitalizations and deaths, I think the answer is yes. But in order to do that, we’re going to have to figure out a way to vaccinate the unvaccinated,” he said.

Debate: Should we waive COVID-19 vaccine patents for low-income countries?

Debate: Should we waive COVID-19 vaccine patents for low-income countries?

Harsha Thirumurthy of the Perelman School of Medicine argued that we should waive COVID-19 vaccine patents for low-income countries. “We simply can’t bring an end to the pandemic—here in the U.S. or elsewhere—without rapidly closing the global vaccine gap,” he wrote. “And we can’t close that gap without waivers of patent protections that are keeping lower-income countries from manufacturing vaccines themselves.”

With more kids eligible for vaccines, is the pandemic in a new phase?
Child wearing mask in school writes at a desk

With more kids eligible for vaccines, is the pandemic in a new phase?

With the FDA authorization last week, 28 million more children are eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Experts from the School of Nursing and Perelman School of Medicine share their thoughts about what to expect in the weeks and months to come.

Katherine Unger Baillie

The controversy surrounding vaccinations, then and now
Person in a white coat reaching into a refrigerator full of bagged vaccines.

Image: Dan Burke

The controversy surrounding vaccinations, then and now

Robert Aronowitz, Walter H. and Leonore C. Annenberg Professor in the Social Sciences, reflects on vaccine hesitancy today compared to the past, and the politicization of public health.

From Omnia