4.21
Health Sciences
Helping salons safely reopen in West Philadelphia
Helping salons safely reopen in West Philadelphia
A Penn Medicine program called SHARP, or Safe Haircuts As We Reopen Philadelphia, helped refine plans for hair salons and barbershops to safely reopen.
An approach to COVID-19 vaccination equity for Black neighborhoods
An approach to COVID-19 vaccination equity for Black neighborhoods
A new paper centers racial equity and address the structural barriers that have prevented Black and other underrepresented minority communities from being vaccinated against COVID-19 at equitable rates.
In the U.S., COVID-19 wasn’t sole cause of excess deaths in 2020
In the U.S., COVID-19 wasn’t sole cause of excess deaths in 2020
Comparing death rates in the United States with those of the five biggest European countries, Penn and Max Planck demographers found that significant excess mortality cost more lives annually than the epidemic itself.
In Peru, a race to vaccinate dogs as two epidemics collide
In Peru, a race to vaccinate dogs as two epidemics collide
A team of workers in Peru, led by Penn Medicine’s Ricardo Castillo-Neyra, led a two-month rabies vaccination campaign.
How young athletes can safely return to sports after COVID-19
How young athletes can safely return to sports after COVID-19
Sports medicine experts at Penn worked with school districts to develop a protocol for student athletes to safely return to competitive sports, and the strenuous exercise levels associated with those activities.
A single injection reverses blindness in patient with rare genetic disorder
A single injection reverses blindness in patient with rare genetic disorder
A Penn Medicine patient with a genetic form of childhood blindness gained vision, which lasted more than a year, after receiving a single injection of an experimental RNA therapy into the eye.
Understanding and addressing barriers to COVID vaccine acceptance
Understanding and addressing barriers to COVID vaccine acceptance
Different communities have different reasons for wanting to wait on this shot. Getting to the heart of those concerns can help meet people where they are.
The path to deeper connections, even amidst a pandemic
The path to deeper connections, even amidst a pandemic
A new book from Penn’s Edward Brodkin and psychology doctoral candidate Ashley Pallathra focuses on the science and practice of attunement, the process by which people can most effectively connect to themselves and others.
Can a Penn epidemiologist prevent a bedbug-driven outbreak?
Can a Penn epidemiologist prevent a bedbug-driven outbreak?
Epidemiologist Michael Z. Levy curbed a Chagas disease epidemic in Arequipa, Peru. Can he prevent an outbreak in Philadelphia?
Anxiety in a post-COVID world
Anxiety in a post-COVID world
A return to the next normal post-pandemic may trigger anxiety for people anticipating a more public-facing life after a year of isolation.
In the News
Seattle Times
Your COVID post-vaccine activities safety guide, including gyms, shopping, taking an Uber and more
Once two weeks have passed following a second COVID-19 vaccine dose (or one Johnson & Johnson dose), individuals are considered fully vaccinated. At that point , what activities are considered “safe” to resume? Meenakshi Bewtra of the Perelman School of Medicine says that for vaccinated people, activities that were once considered risky are safer, but advises people to proceed with caution in light of new variants, and to keep public health and safety at the forefront of daily activities by wearing a mask and maintaining social distance in public.
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CBS Philadelphia
Earth Week: New research links lung cancer to air pollution in Philadelphia
Air in the Philadelphia region is ranked as the 12th most polluted in the country by the American Lung Association. Toxins in the air, mainly from traffic and industry, are known to cause lung cancer. Trevor Penning, a pharmacology professor in the Perelman School of Medicine, developed hazard indices for 421 zip codes using satellite imagery for particulate matter and volatile organic compounds.
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Science Daily
The immune link between a leaky blood-brain barrier and schizophrenia
For people with schizophrenia and other mental disorders, a more permissive blood-brain barrier appears to allow the immune system to get improperly involved in the central nervous system. The inflammation that arises likely contributes to the clinical manifestations of neuropsychiatric conditions, according to new findings from a team led by researchers from the School of Veterinary Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).
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Philadelphia Inquirer
I’m a doctor who examines asylum seekers. I want Biden to fix the asylum system
Jules Lipoff of the Perelman School of Medicine argued for reforming and expanding the U.S. asylum system. “We must renew the United States as a bold world leader in standing for the dignity of human rights,” he wrote.
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CNBC
Dr. Zeke Emanuel on why the U.S. should consider a vaccine mandate
PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel talks about why a vaccine mandate for some types of workers may be a necessary last resort in establishing herd immunity. “I don’t think the risks of the vaccine compare to the risks for the country of the coronavirus is really at issue,” he said.
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