Coronavirus | Penn Today

A Wharton expert examines $900 billion coronavirus pandemic relief bill

Penn Wharton Budget Model expert Richard Prisinzano breaks down what’s in the newly passed stimulus bill, what it means, and explains why many experts don't think that'll be enough to stave off an economic slide in the long run.

The coronavirus pandemic is killing people with diabetes or Alzheimer’s who didn’t even contract the virus

Lisa Walke of the Perelman School of Medicine said pandemic-related stress has intensified daily life for people with dementia and/or diabetes. “Stress causes your sugars to be less well-controlled and, obviously, this has been a stressful time,” she said.

I’m a pregnant doctor. Should I get the COVID vaccine?

Michal Elovitz of the Perelman School of Medicine said it’s possible that an mRNA-based vaccine could potentially cause harm to a developing fetus, but that there’s not enough data to know for sure. “To avoid having pregnant people guess, we should be advocating for more preclinical and clinical research focused on pregnant patients,” she said.

a cartoon of people wearing face masks with various speech bubbles that have images of a virus, the word coronavirus, and CoV

Quarantine or isolation? An updated glossary for the next phase of the pandemic

Penn Today revisits the lexicon of new definitions and phrases to help make sense of news headlines, public health measures, and everyday discussions about COVID-19.

Now that grandma has been vaccinated, may I visit her?

Joshua Uy of the Perelman School of Medicine said nursing home visitors still need to wear a mask when seeing elderly family members, with or without a vaccine.

a person at the far end of a lab working on a computer

From PPE to lab safety, supporting the campus community is a full-time job

The Environmental Health and Radiation Safety office plays an important role in keeping Penn safe and healthy. Now, during the COVID-19 crisis, the office has stepped up to support the resumption of on-campus activities.

James M. Wilson, director of the Gene Therapy Program, the Rose H. Weiss Professor and director of the Orphan Disease Center, and a professor of medicine and pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine.

Repurposing a proven gene therapy approach to treat, prevent COVID-19

In a Q&A, Penn Medicine’s James M. Wilson discusses using adeno-associated viral vectors to transport a lab-made antibody cocktail into the body. This method, delivered via nasal spray or mist, has the potential to act as a “bioshield” against SARS-CoV-2.

Large rendering of the healthcare cross symbol with people standing both on top of and below the symbol against a background featuring the coronavirus germ floating nearby.

Exacerbating the health care divide

With rates of diagnoses and death disproportionately affecting racial minorities and low-income workers, experts from the School of Arts & Sciences address how COVID-19 has further exposed already dire health outcome inequalities.

COVID-19 is devastating communities of color. Can vaccines counter racial inequity?

Harald Schmidt of the Perelman School of Medicine said an approach that reserves doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for the populations hit hardest by the disease is politically savvy. By “baking metrics that grapple with race into the hardware of vaccine distribution decisions,” states avoid the perception of favoritism, he said.

A person in scrubs sitting in a chair in an auditorium. A person in darker scrubs stands above, with other people walking and moving in the background.

First COVID-19 vaccines arrive at Penn Medicine

By week’s end, the health system expects to receive about 9,275 doses of the Pfizer vaccine for its frontline teams.

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