The Coronavirus Update
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Science & Tech
Staying ahead of virus mutations
EVEscape uses evolutionary and biological information to predict how a virus could change to escape the immune system.
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Nation & World
How federal missteps opened door to COVID misinformation
Anti-vaxxers, others benefited from mistrust engendered by early stumbles in messaging about virus, prevention, says New York Times health and science reporter Apoorva Mandavilli.
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Science & Tech
A COVID cure worse than the disease?
Some worry a treatment that kills SARS-CoV-2 by helping it mutate could spawn a super virus. New research weighs in on its “evolutionary safety.”
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Health
How durable is your immunity?
William Hanage, an associate professor of epidemiology, talks about hybrid protection, vulnerability of older people, and the wisdom of Taylor Swift.
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Health
COVID-19 came from animals. Why aren’t we working to prevent new scourge?
A new study suggests we are as vulnerable as ever to the emergence of another virus as deadly, or even more so, than COVID-19.
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Health
Doctors not the only ones feeling burned out
Through a national survey, researchers identified prevalent work overload, burnout, and intent to leave health care professions among nurses, clinical staff, and non-clinical staff, including housekeeping, administrative staff, lab technicians, and food service workers.
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On-again, off-again looks to be best social-distancing option
Social distancing could allow a level of infection that can be handled by the health care system, but would build enough immunity to strangle the epidemic.
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Online forum aims to teach how to deal with pandemic stress
Chan School online forum aims to teach how to deal with pandemic stress.
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Harvard Medical School students mobilize
To help in that effort, within days of the escalation of infections in Massachusetts, hundreds of Harvard Medical School students began mobilizing to provide voluntary support to clinicians.
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Economists cheered by relief package but see long, tough slog ahead
Economists Karen Dynan and Kenneth Rogoff discuss the $2 trillion relief package and the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Restricting civil liberties amid COVID-19 pandemic
Harvard Law School faculty Charles Fried and Nancy Gertner discuss new restrictions on individual freedoms during the pandemic.
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Learning from recovery
Using the tool VirScan, researchers are able to detect antibodies in people’s blood that indicate active and past infections by viruses and bacteria. The goal is to learn how the virus affects the immune system.
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Labs donate protective equipment to health care workers
As University facilities close, faculty and staff gather gear to pass along amid a nationwide shortage.
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Will inequality worsen the toll of the pandemic in the U.S.?
America’s ragged social safety net and large inequity between rich and poor may set it up for a rough road ahead as it deals with the coronavirus epidemic, a Harvard Chan School professor said Tuesday.
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Harvard coronavirus survey: How’re we doing? Not bad so far
An ongoing survey by researchers at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative is examining public attitudes toward the coronavirus pandemic.
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Bringing (virtual) normalcy to the community
A roundup of efforts by the Harvard community to use the web to maintain connection and a sense of kinship.
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A recession playbook
Thomas Hollister details the planning the University had already done for the eventuality of a downturn and what the future may bring amid the coronavirus outbreak.
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Could a new test identify immunity?
Harvard epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch outlined several scenarios — most of them bad — for getting America back to work
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At graduate Schools, reinvention on the fly
Harvard’s graduate and professional Schools have had to adjust quickly to the new realities brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
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Getting ready for the inevitable
Harvard Medical School faculty members and their colleagues at Partners In Health are collaborating with local communities and national governments to help prepare some of the world’s most vulnerable people for the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Scaled-down labs felt ‘this special responsibility’
Harvard scientists put their research on hold for safety, and see chance to help hospitals with precious gear.
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‘There will be cascading failures that get fixed on the fly’
The massive shift from the office to remote work will test the internet in ways it hasn’t been tested before, a Harvard expert on the technology industry said, offering a real-time experiment that will likely see failures, but from which unexpected solutions will also emerge.
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App predicts hospital capacity
Harvard’s Global Health Institute puts its research expertise into motion, helping hospitals assess capacity and quality of care so they can prepare for COVID-19 patients appropriately.
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An update of changes on campus as pandemic spreads
Changes across Harvard’s campus reflect the need to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.
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Talking about the emotional toll of the pandemic
The Harvard Chan School of Public Health will launch a series of weekly interactive forums to discuss issues and options.
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Why odds of a coronavirus recession have risen
An interview with economist Jeffrey Frankel, James W. Harpel Professor of Capital Formation and Growth at Harvard Kennedy School, about the economic impact of the coronavirus on both the world and the U.S. economy.
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Homeward bound
To protect the health of the Harvard Medical School community, first-year Medical and Dental School students, as well as second- and third-year dental students, were asked to vacate their rooms in Vanderbilt Hall. Research laboratories will also be shuttered by 5 p.m. on March 18.
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Coronavirus economic fallout won’t be ‘done with by June’
A Harvard Business School expert on Asian industry said restarting the global economy in COVID-19’s wake won’t be easy, and the task won’t begin until the worst effects are past, perhaps months from now.
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House staff and volunteers roll up sleeves
It’s all hands on deck to help students arrange travel, ship and store their stuff, and depart campus.
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COVID test debacle: ‘We hoped it would go away before it reached us’
Massachusetts may need 1.4 million COVID-19 tests and ramp up to tens of thousands given a day, Harvard experts said.
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What new U.S. travel rules mean for foreign students, scholars
Mark Elliott, vice provost for international affairs, and Martha Gladue, director of the Harvard International Office, discuss what the new U.S. travel rules mean for foreign students, scholars, and those studying abroad.
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The show must stop
The American Repertory Theater has canceled or postponed a series of upcoming events in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
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Designing a coronavirus vaccine
In response to this public health crisis, researchers in the Precision Vaccines Program at Boston Children’s Hospital are on the front lines of developing a vaccine specially targeted toward older populations
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Managing the coronavirus exodus from campus
Vice President for Campus Services Meredith Weenick on the challenges of preventing the spread of disease and helping students move out on a tight timeline.
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‘Unsteady,’ ‘lucky,’ and ‘overwhelmed’
Harvard students reflect on the shift to online classes and an unplanned move home.
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Vital challenge, for those always ready
With cases of COVID-19 multiplying, a Massachusetts General Hospital preparedness expert discusses existing challenges and the ways first responders can get ready to meet the new coronavirus.