Public Health | Penn Today

Person scanning QR code on their phone from a sign that reads PLEASE SCAN FOR MANDATORY TRACK AND TRACE DETAILS. YOU MUST SHOW YOUR CONFIRM SCREEN TO THE STAFF BEFORE ENTERING.

U.S. public skeptical of sharing digital data for COVID-19 control

According to a new study, even in the midst of a pandemic, most U.S. consumers would not look favorably upon the use of their digital data for public health purposes.

An image of an earth surrounded by word bubbles describing public health issues like "a lack of global strategy" and "facade of altruism"

‘Global Health Justice and Governance’

In a special issue of the journal Global Health Governance, seven experts reflect upon Jennifer Prah Ruger’s call for a new model of global public health that prioritizes equity and cooperation between nations and agencies.

Marquee outside the Theatre of Living Arts that reads PENN MEDICINE COVID-19 VACCINES NO WALKUPS with masked people standing on sidewalk outside.

Pennsylvania Hospital’s unusual venue brings the celebration to vaccination

When Pennsylvania Hospital leadership began looking for a neighborhood site where they could set up a COVID-19 vaccine clinic, they found an enthusiastic partner at the Theatre of Living Arts.

a person wearing a mask with a QR code on their phone scanning their ticket in an airport

The potential role of vaccine certificates in the next phase of the pandemic

Public health law expert Eric Feldman and medical ethicist Emily Largent discuss the legal and ethical implications of companies and organizations requiring proof of vaccination to reengage with different sectors of the economy.

Nursing home hallway with an empty wheelchair parked outside an open door.

Nursing home staffing during the pandemic

While the pandemic hit nursing homes especially hard, one area it did not suffer is in staffing. A new study finds that staffing levels in nursing homes did not decrease during the pandemic.

This is the wrong way to distribute badly needed vaccines

PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel and a University of Denver colleague wrote an opinion piece critiquing Covax’s population-based global vaccine distribution formula. “Distributing vaccines purely on the basis of population means some vaccines will fail to reach those whose actual current risk is highest,” they wrote.

Penn Medicine professional in scrubs wearing a face mask receives a vaccine from another medical worker.

Penn Medicine to require all health system employees to receive COVID-19 vaccine

Penn becomes the nation’s largest health system to mandate vaccination, calling for its workforce to set an example to end the pandemic.

Person from Penn Medicine standing at one of the Listening Lab stations holding a headphone to their ear.

Listening Lab: Harnessing the power of storytelling

The Listening Lab, an online storytelling initiative that embraces the simple act of listening and sharing, and advocates for the power of listening as a form of care, highlights experiences and reflections on aspects of health care that aren’t always discussed.

Biden vowed to ‘follow the science,’ but left many out with sudden mask guidance

PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel commented on the CDC’s revised mask and social distancing guidelines. “It wasn’t well done,” he said. “Slowing this down would have been the prudent thing to improve the communication and ensure that all the considerations that were needed on such a momentous decision were in fact taken into account and that the administration had answers for the very, very obvious potential scenarios.”

Person at bar waving away a drink offered while holding car keys with smartphone laying on bar next to them.

Smartphone breath alcohol testing devices vary widely in accuracy

Penn Medicine research finds that some devices failed to detect drivers were over the legal driving limit more than half the time.

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