Coronavirus | Penn Today

The entrance to a hospital. People in personal protective equipment swab others as they enter the building.

Nurses go beyond the caregiving

In the face of a disease that requires physical separation from other human beings, these care providers have extended their role, taking on tasks usually relegated to others and sitting in as family and friends to the ill.

One idea for speeding a coronavirus vaccine: Deliberately infecting people

Stanley Plotkin of the Perelman School of Medicine weighed in on proposals to use a human challenge trial to fast-track a coronavirus vaccine. “If problems don’t arise along the way, I think it would be reasonable to hope that one could do a human challenge trial in about four months,” he said.

In the coronavirus crisis, Newsom uses social media to raise awareness of the pandemic — and his profile

Raina Merchant of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about the use of social media by elected officials and public health leaders to communicate about the coronavirus. “There’s just a lot more people who are on social media. So these types of conversations are very important,” she said.

Jasmine Blanks Jones working with a student at B4 Theater.

Theater stopped misinformation during the Ebola crisis. The arts might help beat this pandemic

When she started B4 Youth Theatre in 2010, Jasmine Blanks Jones wanted to create a theater camp where Liberian youth could amplify their voices as members of their community and use theater to create change.

Researchers discover a key mechanism of cytokine storm in Castleman Disease

The discovery by Penn researchers may be applicable to COVID-19 patients, as some experience the same hyper-response of the immune system.

Fifteen people on videoconference on computer screen

Penn Libraries expands digital collections, online platforms, and expert support

To support the Penn community while working remotely, the Penn Libraries purchased 35,000 e-books, negotiated access to other digital collections, increased video streaming access, and tripled the number of librarians available to answer questions.

Person in black hooded jacket and pants facing away from camera walks near Red Square in Moscow.

Diagnosing Russia’s COVID-19 response

Despite the Russian government’s assertions that it has the COVID-19 crisis under control, the outbreak is in the beginning stages in the country and three experts says Vladimir Putin’s political fate may rest on how he responds to the crisis.

Cassandra Adams wearing a medical mask and scarf on her head stands in front of a white board

Cassandra Adams helps students navigate the health system in a crisis

As part of the Essential Staff Profiles series, Cassandra Adams’ work as a medical receptionist with Student Health Services is a critical service that helps keep students safe navigating their medical needs.

How health insurers can be heroes. Really

Amol Navathe of the Perelman School of Medicine and PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel called for health insurers to support customers by cutting premiums and co-payments, help hospitals and doctors by switching to a fixed-fee model, and work with public health officials to expand COVID-19 testing and establish contact tracing.

Colorized scanning electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (green) heavily infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (purple), isolated from a patient sample.

Coming together to solve the many scientific mysteries of COVID-19

Putting some of their regular research projects on the back burner, researchers around Penn are digging into unknowns about the novel coronavirus from their deep and varied perspectives.

Filters