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The long view on COVID-19 vaccine safety and efficacy
covid-19 virus

A creative rendition of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, not to scale. As of mid-July, the virus has sickened more than 186 million people worldwide and more than 4 million people have died from it, according to the World Health Organization. Globally, more than 3.3 billion vaccine doses have been administered. (Homepage image: NIAID)

The long view on COVID-19 vaccine safety and efficacy

Penn researchers weigh in on the regulatory and scientific efforts to track COVID-19 vaccines.

Katherine Unger Baillie, Michele W. Berger

Vaccine conversations go door-to-door
Yuhnis Syndor stands on the steps holding a clipboard and wearing a mask, speaking to Cristal LaTorre on their front porch with two children.

Canvasser Yuhnis Syndor, 57, speaks to Cristal LaTorre, 35, about the vaccine in West Philadelphia, PA, on May 20, 2021. (Image: Penn Medicine Service in Action)

Vaccine conversations go door-to-door

Canvasser with the West Philadelphia Vaccine Street Team Pilot Program go door to door to dispel misinformation and show their neighbors that vaccination is safe, by example.

From Penn Medicine Service in Action

Pandemic preparedness, three years early
Students work at a table covered with paper, water bottles and markers.

Participants in the first PennDemic, which took place in 2018, lay out a timeline of the “outbreak.” Two additional simulations have since taken place, with one more scheduled for this coming fall.

Pandemic preparedness, three years early

In a Q&A, team members behind the outbreak simulation PennDemic discuss how the exercise, now in its fourth iteration, equipped an interdisciplinary group of grad students for COVID-19 and beyond.

Michele W. Berger

The number of Philly high school students who are homeless may be four times higher than what’s been reported

The number of Philly high school students who are homeless may be four times higher than what’s been reported

Dan Treglia of the School of Social Policy & Practice co-authored a report about homelessness among high school students. The survey corrects for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s tally of those living in shelters and on the street, which Treglia says misses homeless high schoolers who are staying with friends.

What to expect as Penn transitions to a fully in-person fall semester
two people wearing masks walk down penn commons

As Penn looks forward to a fully in-person campus experience for the fall semester, this summer will be a period of transition as faculty, staff, postdocs, and students navigate evolving public health measures while returning to campus in a way that helps keep the community safe.

What to expect as Penn transitions to a fully in-person fall semester

Penn Today looks at guidelines for those on campus this summer, what members of the community can expect as they return to campus, and the role that vaccines have in safely resuming in-person activities.

Erica K. Brockmeier

The pandemic, health inequities, and an ‘opportunity for change’
covid global map

As a global pandemic, COVID-19 spread across the world. But it didn’t hit everyone equally. “Being healthy is essential to human flourishing,” says Jennifer Prah Ruger, who advocates for shared norms in health governance to address global inequalities. (Image: Martin Sanchez, also featured on homepage)

The pandemic, health inequities, and an ‘opportunity for change’

Experts across the University weigh in on which lessons the pandemic drove home and what immediate measures are needed to prevent future loss.
Partisan politics and the opioid epidemic: A social media analysis
Ball of red and blue prescription drug capsules.

Partisan politics and the opioid epidemic: A social media analysis

Researchers at Penn Medicine explored how partisanship might affect legislative progress on the opioid epidemic by analyzing the content of state legislators’ opioid-related social media posts over time.

From Penn LDI