Coronavirus | Penn Today

The coronavirus is new, but your immune system might still recognize it

Laura Su of the Perelman School of Medicine said memory T cells, which tend to operate best when confronting a previously encountered pathogen, are more flexible than they’re given credit for.

doctor in white coat tending to a patient

Family and primary care doctors may have been most at risk of dying from COVID

A Penn-led study suggests that in the health care community, workers in hospital settings may be better protected from COVID-19 than the general population.

two people walking in front of the david rittenhouse laboratory building

Phase II of research resumption expands on-campus activities

An update about the second of Penn’s three-part reopening of research with Vice Provost for Research Dawn Bonnell.

Health experts to F.D.A: Make your vaccine deliberations public

Paul Offit of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about the FDA’s emergency authorization of hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment, despite a lack of evidence of its efficacy. “I think the administration bent or imposed its will on the F.D.A.,” he said. “There’s a concern that this would happen [with the vaccine], too.”

Pregnant person looks out the window with a hand on their stomach.

Pregnant Black and Hispanic women more likely to be exposed to coronavirus

Penn researchers found the rate of virus exposure among pregnant Black and Hispanic women to be five times higher than among white and Asian women.

Bottle of liquid COVID-19 vaccination with a syringe lying against it in front of a row of vaccine bottles in the background.

Is the threat of COVID vaccine hesitancy getting enough attention?

The ultimate key to ending the coronavirus pandemic is developing an effective vaccine and administering it to the population. But a number of trends are converging in ways that may prevent the achievement of that population-wide herd immunity.

Masked person puts a sign on door that says "OPEN BUSINESS AS NEW NORMAL"

Q&A

Why the pandemic introduces language that is ‘hard to explain’

Linguist Andrea Beltrama discusses new words and phrases that have entered the language during the current health crisis, and the “massive” impact the pandemic has had on language.

doctor typing on computer keyboard with stethoscope on desk

Disparities in access to telemedical care during the pandemic

Just as the burden of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality continues to fall on more marginalized populations, so too have the socioeconomic, racial, and gender inequities in access to virtual care.

Contact tracing is failing in many states. Here’s why

Carolyn Cannuscio of the Perelman School of Medicine says contact tracing is broken due to larger failures in the prevention system. “We have to start by supporting people in getting tested, which means making it easy enough for those exposed to someone or has symptoms to just show up and not worry about a doctor’s order,” she said.

Gridded image with "flatten the hate" written across the front and the translation in various languages around the border

Anti-discrimination task force aims to ‘flatten the hate’

Launched in April, the new Task Force on Supporting Asian and Asian American students and scholars at Penn is offering events, seminars, and resources for countering and reporting stigma and anti-Asian behavior.

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