Coronavirus | Penn Today

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.

Screenshot of a video call with 13 people

Interning virtually

The Translational Research Internship Program, offered by the Perelman School of Medicine’s Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics Education Programs, provides mentorship for undergraduates as they complete a translational research project.

Corporate America was here for you on coronavirus until about June

Brian Berkey of the Wharton School commented on rollbacks of workplace perks, benefits, and allowances introduced early in the pandemic. “It’s just unclear that we could point to anything that’s different that would provide a reason to think that companies had strong moral reasons to be taking these steps in March and April, and that somehow those reasons are now gone,” he said.

Study: Mask-wearing moms with COVID-19 can safely nurse babies

Karen Puopolo of the Perelman School of Medicine weighed in on the safety of breastfeeding while infected with COVID-19. “At least so far, we don’t have any evidence that babies are getting the virus from the mother after birth and showing up at the hospital horribly sick,” she said.

Person in hospital bed with COVID-19 presses their hand against a glass window with a loved one on the other side.

Hospitalized COVID-19 patients have low risk of stroke

While researchers found that 2.4% of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 had an ischemic stroke—the most common type of stroke, a new study suggests this is likely due to existing risk factors, rather than COVID-19.

Sandwich board on a city sidewalk that reads “Sorry we’re closed due to COVID-19”

Will coronavirus bailouts save the U.S. economy?

A new paper by Wharton professor Tim Landvoigt weighs four policy scenarios for government relief measures in the wake of pandemic bankruptcies.

Philly doctor: I wear my mask everywhere because it’s ‘the right thing to do’

Jason Han, a surgical resident in the Perelman School of Medicine, weighed in on people who resist wearing face masks in public. “Part of me wonders why we cannot hope instead for a society where individuals choose to do things, not out of fear of punishment, but because they are the right things to do,” he wrote.

Report: One of the biggest obstacles too remote learning? Finding a quiet place to work

A team led by Ryan Baker of the Graduate School of Education analyzed the results of a survey about the challenges of remote learning. “School districts’ IT were never prepared for this to happen,” Baker said.

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