Coronavirus | Penn Today

A masked teacher crouches down at a desk to talk with a masked student at school.

Penn Wharton Budget Model analyzes cost of area school closures

The model shows students’ future wage losses in four Philadelphia-area counties far exceed cost to the community.

Good vaccine news

Aaron Richterman of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines being distributed in the U.S. “In terms of the severe outcomes, which is what we really care about, the news is fantastic,” he said.

a crowd of peaceful masked protesters with one sign in the middle that reads racism is a pandemic too

Systemic racism and its impact on health and wellness

The fifth of 13 conversations in Penn’s “Racism and Anti-Racism in Contemporary America” preceptorial highlighted racial health disparities and discussed policies that could support a more equitable future.

A city’s problematic vaccine rollout raises larger questions

Julia Lynch of the School of Arts & Sciences weighed in on a controversy in Philadelphia, where city officials had to terminate a relationship with a startup that tried to monetize personal data from the mass vaccination site they were tasked with operating. “I think there is a place in our health system for our innovative partners,” said Lynch. “But maybe this isn’t the time to be experimenting with disruptors. Maybe this is the time we should be turning to a health service delivery infrastructure that operates like a well-oiled machine.”

What can COVID-19 teach us about the mysteries of smell?

Richard Doty of the Perelman School of Medicine said the link between smell loss or irregularities and autoimmune or immune-mediated diseases is so strong that it suggests these conditions might have unknown viral causes.

International leaders celebrate the Paris Climate Accord

The outlook for science under the Biden-Harris administration

Penn Today spoke with experts in various areas of science and environmental policy about what they anticipate will shift now that President Biden has assumed the nation’s leadership.

I got my COVID-19 vaccination. Now what? Can I get on a plane, or visit my family? Do I still need to wear my mask?

Ashley Ritter, a postdoc in the School of Nursing, said she’s waiting to visit her immunocompromised family members until she and they are fully vaccinated.

Three medical professionals in full PPE wheel a gurney with a patient towards elevator doors.

Opiate overdoses spike in Black Philadelphians, but drop in white residents since COVID-19

New research into opioid overdoses that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic highlights new disparities along racial lines that are likely fueled by existing inequality.

Current, deadly U.S. coronavirus surge has peaked, researchers say

David Rubin of the Perelman School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia said that while there’s been a decline in COVID-19 transmission rates in most parts of the country, it will take many weeks or months for the number of people getting sick and dying to fall. "It's going to take a while. There's going to be a long tail, unfortunately," he said.

Some COVID-19 mutations may dampen vaccine effectiveness

E. John Wherry and Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about how new variants of the novel coronavirus might respond to the existing COVID-19 vaccines. “We don’t want people thinking that the current vaccine is already outdated. That’s absolutely not true,” said Wherry. However, he warned, the mutations “do in fact reduce how well our immune response is recognizing the virus.”

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