Coronavirus | Penn Today

Marquee outside the Theatre of Living Arts that reads PENN MEDICINE COVID-19 VACCINES NO WALKUPS with masked people standing on sidewalk outside.

Pennsylvania Hospital’s unusual venue brings the celebration to vaccination

When Pennsylvania Hospital leadership began looking for a neighborhood site where they could set up a COVID-19 vaccine clinic, they found an enthusiastic partner at the Theatre of Living Arts.

A young person wearing a mask and polka dot t-shirt leaning against a faux wooden wall.

A mental health checkup for children and adolescents, a year into COVID

As a whole, this group experienced a significant short-term psychological toll. Though the long-term consequences aren’t yet known, particularly given how the year disproportionately exacerbated adverse childhood experiences, Penn experts remain cautiously optimistic.

a person wearing a mask with a QR code on their phone scanning their ticket in an airport

The potential role of vaccine certificates in the next phase of the pandemic

Public health law expert Eric Feldman and medical ethicist Emily Largent discuss the legal and ethical implications of companies and organizations requiring proof of vaccination to reengage with different sectors of the economy.

Immunity to the coronavirus may persist for years, scientists find

Scott Hensley of the Perelman School of Medicine commented on new research that suggests COVID-19 immunity lasts for at least a year. However, he warned, viruses change significantly every few years: “The reason we get infected with common coronaviruses repetitively throughout life might have much more to do with variation of these viruses rather than immunity.”

The science behind vaccine incentives

Katy Milkman of the Wharton School was interviewed about using incentives to motivate people to get vaccinated. “The focus is not on the adamant folks who are absolutely against it; it's rather on everyone else,” she said.

Nursing home hallway with an empty wheelchair parked outside an open door.

Nursing home staffing during the pandemic

While the pandemic hit nursing homes especially hard, one area it did not suffer is in staffing. A new study finds that staffing levels in nursing homes did not decrease during the pandemic.

This is the wrong way to distribute badly needed vaccines

PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel and a University of Denver colleague wrote an opinion piece critiquing Covax’s population-based global vaccine distribution formula. “Distributing vaccines purely on the basis of population means some vaccines will fail to reach those whose actual current risk is highest,” they wrote.

Penn Medicine professional in scrubs wearing a face mask receives a vaccine from another medical worker.

Penn Medicine to require all health system employees to receive COVID-19 vaccine

Penn becomes the nation’s largest health system to mandate vaccination, calling for its workforce to set an example to end the pandemic.

COVID-19′s put extra stress on foster care youth

Johanna Greeson of the School of Social Policy & Practice led a study that surveyed current and recent foster youth in the U.S. about their experiences of the pandemic. Many respondents reported facing housing instability, food insecurity, and a lack of support. “I hope we can use this learning to inform policy and practice changes so that when disaster strikes again, all our systems, including health care, can more effectively respond to the safety, health, and well-being needs of these marginalized young people,” said Greeson.

Confusing rules, loopholes and legal issues: College vaccination plans are a mess

Eric Feldman of the Law School spoke about how vaccine mandates could affect colleges and universities. “There are likely to be many students who are only comfortable being in a classroom where everyone is required to be vaccinated,” he said.

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