Coronavirus | Penn Today

Reopening schools before a children’s vaccine

Paul Offit of the Perelman School of Medicine addressed concerns about children returning to school amid the pandemic. “It’s extremely rare for a child to die of this virus, so it’s the teachers that you need to vaccinate,” he said.

View of Philadelphia skyline from the Schuylkill River at dusk.

How can cities become healthier, greener, and more equitable in the future?

In a year marked by COVID-19, renewed calls for racial justice, a contentious presidential election, and an active wildfire and hurricane season, Penn experts share what’s needed to make urban areas more resilient to future crises.

How lessons we learned from the AIDS crisis can help us with COVID-19

Robert Gross of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about parallels between the COVID-19 pandemic and the early years of the AIDS crisis. “Just like how AIDS had to do with judgmentalism and mores related to gay sex and injection drug use, well, now Trump is using masks as a political message to say if you support him and the job he is doing then you don’t have to wear a mask. Or when he says we are ’rounding the corner.’ Well, now we are having a third peak as cases are rising in much of the country,” he said.

Can I travel this winter?

Stephen Gluckman of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about the hazards of travel amid the pandemic and offered tips for staying safe. “I think a rental property, if you go to rent it for a week or two, that is probably a little safer than a hotel,” he said. “If you are self-contained, you are no different than when you are home.”

Thanksgiving 1918 took place during a deadly pandemic. What can it teach us for Thanksgiving 2020?

David Barnes of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about the parallels between the flu pandemic of 1918 and the present pandemic. “It’s pretty clear [the Spanish flu] wouldn’t have lasted as long as it did or been as deadly if people had been keeping to themselves,” he said.

Person working from home, sitting at a desk with a computer, speaking on a smartphone, holding a mug.

If pandemic productivity is up, why is innovation slowing down?

A new study finds that productivity has remained stable or even increased for many companies that shifted to remote work during the coronavirus pandemic. However, innovation has taken a hit as both leaders and employees feel more distant from each other.

Heat map contact tracing a city where an infected person have spread COVID-19.

The last line of defense: Contact tracers and COVID-19 patients

The third in a series of Penn Medicine’s public health outreach to stem the spread of the coronavirus looks at the role of contact tracing.

Members of the sprint football team stand outside of HUP with bags of food and bottles of water.

Sprint football team sells face masks to provide meals for frontline workers

As a community-service project, the team sold face masks and coverings to purchase 500 meals for essential workers at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Uniting against an invisible foe

All across the University, researchers have launched new areas of study, reaching across disciplinary boundaries to make stunning progress in combating COVID-19.

Design-minded strategies for greener, healthier indoor spaces

Insights on the evolution of modern building design, how to improve ventilation while reducing energy usage, and ways that architects are supporting their communities with simple, design-based solutions.

Filters