Penn community members coped with the ever-changing pandemic and associated losses, and they managed a complicated and often stressful return to in-person classes and exams.

Dubé said the decision to prohibit indoor social events was preventative in nature and was made in an effort to avoid the need for further restrictions on campus movement, which could jeopardize the University's academic mission.

Whether in-person or online, masked or unmasked, socializing or isolating, COVID-19 continued to determine what life at Penn looked like in 2021.

Social events include parties, formals, and other spaces where alcohol, food, and dancing are present.

The class will travel to the Galápagos Islands for 10 days after final exams to study the relationship between conservation, tourism, and local communities.

The clinic will provide the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to all students, faculty, staff, and postdoctoral students.

The initiative also includes efforts from the Perelman School of Medicine, the Annenberg School for Communication, and the City of Philadelphia.

Countries like New Zealand, Vietnam, and Japan are requiring travelers from the United States to quarantine upon arrival even if they are fully vaccinated.

The Omicron variant, which was first identified in Botswana and South Africa, could be more contagious than other variants and less susceptible to vaccines.

Penn and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are now recommending booster shots in light of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

The University's COVID-19 positivity rate increased slightly last week, rising from 0.64% between Nov. 14 and Nov. 20 to 0.84% between Nov. 21 and Nov. 27, mimicking a nationwide trend.

At-risk groups include older populations, people with HIV, and those with drug addiction.

The money, intended for “emergency purchases during the COVID-19 pandemic,” was misused, according to Rhynhart. 

The team from the Perelman School of Medicine found two potential pathways to target the two variants of the gene that make some Black Americans more susceptible to COVID-19 and sepsis complications.

Chief Wellness Officer Benoit Dubé said the majority of the cases were linked to either travel to areas with lower vaccination rates or transmission by unvaccinated family members.

Penn Medicine researchers concluded that those who enrolled in COVID Watch benefited from a 68 percent reduction in mortality rate.

The CDC has consistently overcounted the number of adults who have received their first doses and slightly undercounted the number of fully vaccinated adults.