Coronavirus | Penn Today

Kerwin Barden wearing a face mask wearing military fatigues.

A Penn nurse plays an integral role in temporary COVID-19 hospital

Kerwin Barden, a cardiovascular nurse at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and chief nurse for the 177th Fighter Wing with the Air National Guard, was deployed to a 250-bed field medical station in New Jersey when the pandemic hit.

Here’s how effective vaccine incentives like free beer really are

Emily Largent of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about the efficacy of incentives in combatting vaccine hesitancy among Americans. "A donut or a ticket is not going to address their concerns," she said. "We’re still going to need other interventions."

How would the mayoral candidates get guns off New York streets?

Richard Berk of the School of Arts & Sciences said an increase in gun violence may be tied to the pandemic, which has interfered with after-school programming and slowed the legal system’s ability to process cases.

Ron Johnson’s unscientific use of vaccine and death data

Susan Ellenberg of the Perelman School of Medicine said the general public may misinterpret data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. “A causal connection between the vaccine and an adverse event cannot be made based on any single report (with the exception of things like an anaphylactic reaction within seconds of receiving the vaccine),” she said.

When should pandemic benefits end if there’s no neat end to the pandemic?

Robert Hughes of the Wharton School spoke about the hazards of prematurely ending restrictions on evictions. “About 40% of households can’t pay a $400 emergency without going into debt,” he said. “And if we end up with a lot of people homeless, that’s a crisis.”

Philly will lift all COVID-related restrictions on June 11, but it won’t be business as usual. Nor should it be

Florencia Greer Polite of the Perelman School of Medicine addressed concerns over Philadelphia’s plan to lift COVID-related restrictions this summer. “It makes me a little uncomfortable, too, because at 15 months in, we have to remember that while we’re over COVID, COVID is not over us,” she said.

After the pandemic, how will society remember more than 3 million lives lost to COVID-19?

To date, more than 3 million people worldwide have lost their lives to COVID-19.

A misleading CDC number

Aaron Richterman of the Perelman School of Medicine said the likelihood of spreading COVID-19 while outdoors is low. “I’m sure it’s possible for transmission to occur outdoors in the right circumstances,” he said, “but if we had to put a number on it, I would say much less than 1 percent.”

Delaware County prepares to vaccinate children as young as 12

P.J. Brennan, chief medical officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, said COVID-19 vaccination is safe and effective for children. "Kids don't get sick very often, but they can shed virus and they can spread it to adults. So, if we're going to get it under control we have to address the younger population as well," he said.

A masked health care worker give a vaccine to a person in the upper arm who is wearing a face mask.

Vaccine house calls bring COVID protection home

In an effort to reach residents who are elderly or disabled, Penn Medicine has put its COVID-19 vaccination efforts on wheels, taking shots directly to patients’ homes.

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