Covid
Penn Medicine establishes professorship, fellowship for vaccine research and development
Professor of Medicine Drew Weissman — whose research allowed for the development of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine — was named the inaugural Roberts Family Professor in Vaccine Research.
Penn community members are once again required to wear masks indoors
A total of 80% of students enrolled in on-campus programs and 84% of faculty and staff have reported being fully vaccinated. The University expects the community vaccination rate to reach 90% by September.
Van Pelt Library opens to Penn community, visitors ahead of in-person fall semester
Individuals no longer need to schedule an appointment or make a reservation to browse the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center's stacks or to use self-serve study areas.
Philadelphia School District will require students, staff to wear masks
Students will be returning to in-person classes this fall, with a remote learning option for those who wish to continue online.
Penn will 'strongly recommend' — but not require — mask-wearing indoors, joining CDC
The move comes as COVID-19 cases across the country continue to rise, largely due to the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. Penn will continue to monitor the situation and the decision may change in the future.
Online teaching negatively impacts student learning, Wharton professor’s study finds
The researchers found that no particular demographic was more impacted by the effects of online learning and that certain learning techniques were more effective.
Penn-sponsored 'Vaccine Street Team' goes door-to-door to combat COVID-19 vaccine myths
The team visited 9,161 pre-mapped homes and reached over 250 individuals who were initially hesitant to get vaccinated, as of July 13.
A look back at Amy Gutmann’s greatest accomplishments in her 17 years as Penn president
As Gutmann awaits U.S. Senate confirmation for her ambassadorship, here's a look at her greatest accomplishments during her 17-year presidency.
For first time ever, Penn sophomores will participate in their own orientation program
Many rising sophomores expressed excitement and said that they hope to meet people through the programming and, for some, to take their first steps on campus.
Some students say they feel comfortable attending Made in America, citing vaccination rates
Some Penn students that plan on attending the festival said that concert reopenings generally felt safe as more Philadelphia residents become vaccinated.
City of Phila. reaches milestone as 70% of adults receive first dose of COVID-19 vaccine
The City of Philadelphia is shifting from mass vaccination sites to smaller close-to-home clinics in order to get more residents vaccinated by meeting them where they feel most comfortable.
Penn confirms plans to conduct fully in-person fall semester
Fully vaccinated students will not be required to submit to any form of regular COVID-19 testing, as they had been in the spring 2021 semester.
Penn's transfer acceptance rate drops below 5% this year, a record low
Penn offered admission to about 165 of the more than 3,500 students who applied to Penn this year, according to Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions Sara Cohen.
Texas court ruling bolsters Penn Medicine’s employee COVID-19 vaccine mandate
Texas court federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against the Houston Methodist Hospital System for requiring its employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Fauci discusses COVID-19 vaccine equity, mental health at virtual Penn Medicine event
The event covered the importance of young people getting vaccinated, vaccine equity, and the pandemic's impact on the mental health of Generation Z.
Penn sponsors 'Philly Vax Sweepstakes' to incentivize Phila. residents to get vaccinated
Penn has partnered with the City of Philadelphia to sponsor a lottery of cash prizes of up to $50,000 awarded to residents for getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
Mapping U.S. colleges' COVID-19 vaccine requirement policies
In real time, The Daily Pennsylvanian is tracking the fall 2021 vaccine requirement policies at over 200 U.S. colleges across each of the 50 states.
Penn lifts nearly all indoor mask-wearing requirements for vaccinated individuals
The move marks the first time in well over a year that students, faculty, and staff will not be required to wear a mask indoors at Penn, a monumental step towards Penn's plan of holding a fully in-person, on-campus fall semester.
‘A sense of normalcy’: students welcome Penn’s new mask guidelines
Several students remain concerned about the enforcement of new mask-wearing regulations and the impact they will have on the West Philadelphia community.