For the Harvard Chan community: Find the latest updates, guidance, useful information, and resources about Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) here.
In the wake of an outbreak of coronavirus that began in China in 2019, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health experts have been speaking to a variety of media outlets and writing articles about the pandemic. We’ll be updating this article on a regular basis. Here’s a selection of stories from July 2020 in which they offer comments and context:
July 31: Safer Air: To Cut Virus Risk In Fall, Schools Scramble To Improve Ventilation (WBUR)
Quotes Joseph Allen, assistant professor of exposure assessment science
July 31: Best of Boston 2020 (Boston Magazine)
Marc Lipsitch, professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, got a “Best of Boston 2020” nod in the category “The People Who Gave Us Hope.” Lipsitch was cited for his “consistent and clear message, whether speaking to us in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, or the Boston Globe: Never underestimate COVID-19.”
July 31: Should we be testing fewer people to stop the spread of Covid-19? (Vox)
Sarah Fortune, John LaPorte Given Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases and chair of the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, quoted; New York Times opinion piece by Michael Mina, assistant professor of epidemiology, cited; Time ideas piece by Ashish Jha, K.T. Li Professor of Global Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, cited
July 31: The heat is on: Texas inmates say they are battling COVID-19 in prisons with no A/C (Dallas Morning News )
Extreme heat inside Texas prisons could make it tougher for inmates sick with COVID-19 to battle the disease, said Edward Nardell, professor in the Departments of Environmental Health and Immunology and Infectious Diseases. The biggest risk of being hot and sick at the same time is dehydration, according to Nardell and other experts.
July 31: Turnaround times for coronavirus testing reveal wide disparity (AP)
Roger Shapiro, associate professor of immunology and infectious diseases, quoted
July 30: Aboard the Diamond Princess, a Case Study in Aerosol Transmission (New York Times)
According to a computer model of the coronavirus outbreak on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, the virus spread mostly via microscopic droplets that linger in the air for several minutes or much longer. The model was developed by a research team at Harvard Chan School’s Healthy Buildings program, including postdoctoral fellow Parham Azimi, research assistant Zahra Keshavarz, associate director Jose Guillermo Cedeno Laurent, and director Joseph Allen, assistant professor of exposure assessment science. Their research was described in a report published on the preprint server medRxiv.
July 30: How Our “Balkanized” Healthcare System Made the Pandemic Far Worse (Mother Jones)
Q&A featuring William Hanage, associate professor of epidemiology
July 30: Covid-19 Survivors Should Stay Vigilant, Doctors Say (Wall Street Journal)
It’s not clear whether people can be reinfected with the coronavirus. Sarah Fortune, John LaPorte Given Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases and chair of the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, said that one possibility is that some patients never entirely cleared the virus. She also said it’s encouraging that reports of reinfection are rare.
July 30: Covid-19 is causing the collapse of Brazil’s national health service (BMJ)
Marcia Castro, Andelot Professor of Demography and chair of the Department of Global Health and Population, quoted
July 30: Harvard Epidemiologist: ‘Hybrid’ Model For Reopening Schools Is ‘Probably Among The Worst’ Options (WGBH)
William Hanage, associate professor of epidemiology, discussed the importance of prioritizing opening schools, even if it means closing certain businesses in order to limit community spread of COVID-19. “I think that it is possible that we might be able to do in-class education close to full-time for some age groups because … the under 10-year-old age group is much less likely to be affected badly, and there’s also some evidence that they’re less likely to transmit,” he said.
July 30: Where we stand 6 months into the COVID-19 global health emergency (Scripps National News)
William Hanage, associate professor of epidemiology, who recently signed an open letter calling for the U.S. to shut down and start over to tamp down the coronavirus—by increasing testing, contract tracing, and personal protective equipment (PPE) levels—said that the experience of countries like New Zealand and South Korea show “that it is possible with sufficient sustained action to shut down, strangle the virus, throw it back into the sea,” then reopen substantial amounts of the economy.
July 29: The odd, growing list of Covid-19 symptoms, explained (Vox)
The list of symptoms caused by COVID-19 continues to grow. It includes cough, fever, shortness of breath, vomiting, rashes, loss of taste and smell, muscle aches, and toe lesions dubbed “COVID toes.” Some develop inflammatory conditions, neurological maladies, abnormal blood clotting, strokes, and immune system overreactions (“cytokine storms”) that can lead to organ failure or death. And others are experiencing serious long-term symptoms. COVID-19 “is such a unique infection in its ability to cause so much damage in so many different ways, in so many different organ systems,” said Andrew Chan, professor in the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases. “It’s been very humbling for us as physicians and as a scientific community.” Chan and his team developed the COVID Symptom Study app that lets users self-report symptoms daily.
July 29: America Needs to Radically Rethink Our COVID-19 Testing Approach (Time)
With shortages of key supplies for COVID-19 testing and growing backlogs of samples, “America’s testing infrastructure is collapsing,” wrote Ashish Jha, K.T. Li Professor of Global Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, in this Ideas article. He called for the use of rapid tests that could be widely distributed and that people could take every day. He acknowledged that these antigen tests are less accurate than the PCR tests currently in use. But, he argued, “If everyone took an antigen test today—even identifying only 50 percent of the positives—we would still identify 50 percent of all current infections in the country—five times more than the 10 percent of cases we are likely currently identifying because we are testing so few people.”
July 29: If Britain ditches overseas holidays, we can eliminate coronavirus (The Guardian)
Restricting travel abroad could eliminate the coronavirus in Britain, according to an opinion piece co-authored by David Hunter, Vincent L. Gregory Professor in Cancer Prevention, Emeritus, and Richard Doll professor of epidemiology and medicine at the University of Oxford.
July 29: FDA opens door to rapid, at-home testing for COVID-19 (USA Today)
The Food and Drug Administration has issued guidelines for how it will approve rapid at-home tests for COVID-19, but some experts say the FDA’s accuracy requirements are too stringent. “Unfortunately the template does not offer this type of ‘new’ avenue that I think is going to be necessary if we want to see truly $1 daily tests become a reality,” said Michael Mina, assistant professor of epidemiology.
July 29: College football tailgates, frat parties are ‘major risk factors’ for COVID-19 spread this fall, experts warn (USA Today )
Research fellow Stephen Kissler said that social activities surrounding college football, such as tailgate or frat parties, could be “major risk factors” for the spread of COVID-19 this fall. He recommended that, in general, people should keep their social circles at no more than five to 10 people.
July 29: Reopening These Is “The Equivalent of Reopening Bars,” Harvard Doctor Says (Best Life)
It could be tough to keep the coronavirus from spreading in schools—where many people congregate and where it’s hard to keep kids apart from each other and to keep them in masks—according to Sarah Fortune, John LaPorte Given Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases and chair of the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases. She said schools could be safer if there is more frequent testing of students and staff.
July 29: Here’s When You’re No Longer at Risk of Getting COVID, Harvard Doctor Says (Best Life)
People have to remain vigilant about the coronavirus, said Sarah Fortune, John LaPorte Given Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases and chair of the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases. “We should consider ourselves always at risk until we have herd immunity or a vaccine,” she said.
July 29: Virus sparked global mask-wearing, but not much in U.S. (UPI)
Sarah Fortune, John LaPorte Given Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases and chair of the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, quoted
July 29: Here’s What We Know About Kids and Covid-19 (Bloomberg Quint)
Refers to a recent review of studies on coronavirus transmission, by senior research scientist Edward Goldstein and Marc Lipsitch, professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, that found that children under age 10 are significantly less susceptible to the virus than teens and adults.
July 29: U.S. Surpasses 150,000 Coronavirus Deaths, Far Eclipsing Projections (New York Times)
Sarah Fortune, John LaPorte Given Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases and chair of the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, estimated that a mortality rate of 0.5% of all U.S. coronavirus cases would be a “best-case scenario,” but said the death rate could also go as high as 2% of cases, depending on how hard the virus hits high-risk environments like nursing homes. “We have this terrible death toll because we have done a lousy job at limiting transmission,” she said.
July 29: Should Sports Be Making Their Comeback During A Pandemic? (WGBH)
Roger Shapiro, associate professor of immunology and infectious diseases, quoted
July 29: 9 Things Experts Have Learned About Covid-19 So Far (Elemental)
Among things now known about COVID-19 that weren’t known at first: It can become airborne, face masks are crucial to control infection, it can affect the whole body (not just the lungs), it can harm young adults and children as well as older people, and it’s far more deadly than the flu. Yonatan Grad, Melvin J. and Geraldine L. Glimcher Assistant Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, William Hanage, associate professor of epidemiology, and Barry Bloom, Joan L. and Julius H. Jacobson Research Professor of Public Health, were quoted.
July 29: How sports, coronavirus and hygiene mix: Spit, snot rockets and licking during return to play (ESPN)
Gross habits found in sports—spitting, hand licking, even launching so-called “snot-rockets”—could increase the risk of coronavirus transmission among athletes. Michael Mina, assistant professor of epidemiology, said that frequent testing will be key to catching outbreaks. “For these teams to really move forward, and to ensure that they’re all going to be safe, they just need to make sure that they’re not infected when going into practices and games,” he said.
July 29: One Man’s Quest to Infect People With Covid-19 for Science (Elemental)
Marc Lipsitch, professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, was quoted in this article about “human challenge trials” for the coronavirus—trials in which volunteers would be deliberately infected with the virus to test vaccines. Lipsitch co-authored a March 31, 2020 article in the Journal of Infectious Diseases that said that such trials, although risky, could speed the vaccine development process by months.
July 29: We Bailed Out Banks And Car Companies. Why Can’t We Invest Enough To Make Our Schools Safe? (WBUR)
Commentary co-authored by Margaret Kruk, professor of health systems, and Jessica Cohen, Bruce A. Beal, Robert L. Beal, and Alexander S. Beal Associate Professor of Global Health
July 28: CDC COVID-19 Death Data Makes Risk to People of Color Seem Lower than It Is (Newsweek)
The CDC is presenting data on COVID-19 deaths related to race and ethnicity in a way that downplays the disease’s disproportionate impact on people of color, according to a JAMA Network Open research letter co-authored by doctoral students Tori Cowger, Brigette Davis, Onisha Etkins, Keletso Makofane, Jourdyn Lawrence; Mary Bassett, director of the François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University; and Nancy Krieger, professor of social epidemiology.
July 28: Major League Baseball postpones two games in new season as Miami Marlins players test positive to COVID-19 (ABC Australia)
Ashish Jha, K.T. Li Professor of Global Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, cited
July 28: Modi stumbles: India’s deepening coronavirus crisis (Financial Times)
Ashish Jha, K.T. Li Professor of Global Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, said he fears the coronavirus infection rate in India will continue to rise, and that the Indian government’s tendency to minimize the magnitude of the threat posed by disease will lead people to let their guard down.
July 27: We can—and must—reopen schools. Here’s how. (Washington Post)
There’s a “SMART” way to reopen schools safely, wrote Joseph Allen, assistant professor of exposure assessment science, in an op-ed:
S: Stay home when sick
M: Mask up
A: Air cleaner in every classroom
R: Refresh indoor air
T: Temporary classrooms
July 27: Fact-checking the WV Democratic Party’s tweet on COVID-19 transmission (Politifact)
Andi Shi, a doctoral student in biostatistics, and Xihong Lin, professor of biostatistics, quoted
July 27: How To Make Classrooms Safe For Learning In A Pandemic (WBUR)
Joseph Allen, assistant professor of exposure assessment science, spoke with Meghna Chakrabarti of WBUR’s “On Point” about school safety measures during COVID-19 ranging from new ventilation systems to Plexiglass barriers.
July 27: Government predicted, but failed to address, racial disparities in global pandemic: Ex-officials (ABC News)
Mary Bassett, director of the François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University, quoted
July 26: A quick, cheap test would help stop COVID-19. So why don’t we have one? (USA Today)
Given delays in results from the most commonly used test to diagnose COVID-19—the PCR test—some experts are hoping for a rapid, low-cost test for the disease that could deliver results within 10 minutes. Research fellow Stephen Kissler and Michael Mina, assistant professor of epidemiology, were quoted.
July 26: COVID-19 testing at universities threatens to strain nationwide capacity (The Hill)
Some public health officials worry that COVID-19 testing at colleges and universities in the fall will overburden an already strained system. But Thomas Tsai, assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, said it’s important to test students before they arrive on campuses and follow up with surveillance testing (testing a percentage of the population) afterward. He also recommended relying less on commercial labs to process the tests and more on labs in health care systems and academic research groups.
July 26: CDC survey finds 35% report COVID-19 symptoms 2-3 weeks after positive test — including young adults (Fox6Now)
A new CDC report suggests that a large percentage of people who get COVID-19 may have prolonged symptoms. Thomas Tsai, assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, said there isn’t yet enough evidence to understand the disease’s long-term effects, and said it’s important to study the matter further.
July 26: Could a century-old technology zap coronavirus in schools and offices? (Boston Globe)
Germicidal ultraviolet air disinfection, or GUV, may be able to wipe out airborne coronavirus particles in indoor spaces, according to experts. “It’s a well-proven, extremely safe technology that is underused and often misunderstood,” said Edward Nardell, professor in the Departments of Environmental Health and Immunology and Infectious Diseases. Nardell was also quoted about GUV in a July 13 NPR article.
July 25: Trump’s fragmented pandemic response may undermine push to address racial disparities (Politico)
Health experts said that efforts by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the broader federal government to tackle COVID-19-related racial disparities are being hampered by cultural misunderstandings, mixed messaging, and lack of investment in testing, tracing, and quarantines. “Where is the central command?” asked Mary Bassett, director of the François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University. “I feel like we’re on an airplane where the pilot just got up and walked to the back.”
July 24: What Science Says About Children, COVID-19 and School Reopenings (Factcheck.org)
William Hanage, associate professor of epidemiology, quoted
July 24: Your State Should Lock Down Again Once It Hits This Exact Benchmark (BestLife)
According to the Harvard Global Health Institute’s COVID Risk Levels dashboard, once a state reaches 25 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people per day, it’s time to shut down. HGHI researcher Thomas Tsai, assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, was quoted.
July 24: An Elite Group Of Scientists Tried To Warn Trump Against Lockdowns In March (BuzzFeed)
Marc Lipsitch, professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, quoted
July 24: Op-ed: How to make your business public health ready in a coronavirus world (CNBC)
Examining a company’s supply chain, improving safety in factories, reexamining paid sick day policies, upgrading hygiene in retail stores—these are just a few examples of how business leaders with public health expertise could help companies safely navigate the world of COVID-19 and other pandemics, wrote Dean Michelle Williams in an op-ed.
July 24: US coronavirus cases ease in some hotspots (AFP)
Efforts to ramp up testing, promote mask wearing, and ban indoor gatherings at places like bars and restaurants may be helping lower the number of new COVID-19 cases in some U.S. locations, said Thomas Tsai, assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management.
July 23: Here’s what you need to know about fading coronavirus antibodies (Boston Globe)
Recent studies have found that coronavirus antibodies fade within a few months, raising concerns that people could become reinfected or that vaccines would only provide temporary protection. But Michael Mina, assistant professor of epidemiology, said that a drop in antibodies is perfectly normal after an acute infection subsides. It’s still not known how long immunity will last after someone gets infected or receives a vaccine. Marc Lipsitch, professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, was also quoted.
July 23: Experts: Daily life may remain disrupted after vaccine launch (Roll Call)
Even after a COVID-19 vaccine is developed, it could take months to roll it out to the public, and it’s unclear how effective or long-lasting it will be, say experts. “I am worried that we’re not going to be able to just press a button and go from pandemic to no pandemic,” said Yonatan Grad, Melvin J. and Geraldine L. Glimcher Assistant Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases. “It will take a lot of time, and it may not happen to quite the extent that we might imagine.”
July 23: Covid-19: Should I Get A Test? (Wall Street Journal)
Michael Mina, assistant professor of epidemiology, quoted
July 22: Can You Get Covid-19 Again? It’s Very Unlikely, Experts Say (New York Times)
Although some are worried about getting the coronavirus twice, experts say that reports of reinfection are more likely to be a drawn-out course of a single infection. “I haven’t heard of a case where [reinfection has] been truly unambiguously demonstrated,” said Marc Lipsitch, professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics. Michael Mina, assistant professor of epidemiology, was also quoted.
July 22: U.S. Northeast, Pummeled in the Spring, Now Stands Out in Virus Control (New York Times)
After suffering a devastating wave of coronavirus illnesses and deaths in March and April, the Northeast is now controlling the spread of infection. The region “is acting like Europe,” said Ashish Jha, K.T. Li Professor of Global Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and director of the Harvard Global Health Institute.
July 22: Pregnant During A Pandemic? (Psychology Today)
In a blog, Karestan Koenen, professor of psychiatric epidemiology, wrote about the mental health challenges pregnant women face during the coronavirus pandemic.
July 22: Experts call for more federal testing oversight as cases surge (Roll Call)
Michael Mina, assistant professor of epidemiology, quoted
July 22: Rapid, Cheap, Less Accurate Coronavirus Testing Has A Place, Scientists Say (NPR)
Even if some rapid coronavirus tests only catch an infection at its peak, they can still be helpful if they’re inexpensive and people use them on a frequent basis, according to Michael Mina, assistant professor of epidemiology. “I can envision a time when everyone can order a pack of 50 tests for $50 and … use them every other day for a couple of months,” he said.
July 22: Providers: Face Masks Outside Hospital Settings, Counseling Patients on COVID-19 (Contagion Live)
In this video interview, Howard Koh, Harvey V. Fineberg Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership, discussed the importance of health care providers and workers wearing masks during their interactions with patients, and of advising patients about preventing COVID-19.
July 21: Opinion: It’s ethical to test promising coronavirus vaccines against less-promising ones (PNAS)
In an opinion piece, co-author Marc Lipsitch, professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, argued that it’s ethical to compare a promising coronavirus vaccine with a less-promising one in a trial, so long as doing so would create only a minimal delay in getting evidence on the more-promising vaccine.
July 21: A Regionalized Public Health Model To Combat COVID-19: Lessons From Japan (Health Affairs)
In a blog, Ariadne Labs’ Ryoko Hamaguchi, June-Ho Kim, and Asaf Bitton, and Harvard Chan School MPH student Masafumi Funato examined both the advantages and drawbacks of Japan’s regionalized public health system in fighting COVID-19.
July 21: What happens when a student or staffer gets sick at school this fall? (Boston Globe)
Protocols recently released by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education spell out what to do when students, staff, or families experience symptoms or test positive for COVID-19. William Hanage, associate professor of epidemiology, said that the plan is impressive, but added, “I am anxious that the pandemic is not going to play along and we have to account for that.”
July 21: Dean of Harvard’s School of Public Health on whether schools should reopen (CNBC)
Schools can reopen in the U.S., but it would be best to continue online learning in places with high levels of COVID-19 transmission until community spread of the disease can be lowered, according to Dean Michelle Williams.
July 21: Crisis Fatigue: Are We Emotionally Overwhelmed? (WebMD)
The coronavirus pandemic, the economic crisis, and national upheaval about racial injustice has many Americans dealing with “crisis fatigue,” feeling a combination of exhaustion, anger, despair, and anxiety, say experts. Karestan Koenen, professor of psychiatric epidemiology, said she’s noticed more stress and burnout as the crises have worn on. She compared the effects of the coronavirus to disasters such as long-term wars or displacement in refugee camps—chronic, stressful crises with no obvious end-point.
July 21: Report: Delays in COVID-19 test results make virus containment more challenging (Boston.com)
Delays in COVID-19 testing are happening across the U.S. because the nation’s testing system wasn’t designed to handle the current volume, according to Michael Mina, assistant professor of epidemiology. “We are trying to insert a square peg in a round hole,” he said.
July 21: Coronavirus triggers gender-based violence, inequality (The Jakarta Post)
Gita Sen, adjunct professor, Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, quoted
July 21: Curious About Contract Tracing? Here’s How it Really Works. (Undark)
Howard Koh, Harvey V. Fineberg Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership, quoted
July 21: Growing Understanding Of Airborne Coronavirus Puts Focus On Air Conditioning (WGBH)
The coronavirus can spread more easily in indoor, air-conditioned spaces, where people are less distant from each other and re-breathe air that others have exhaled, according to Edward Nardell, professor in the Departments of Environmental Health and Immunology and Infectious Diseases. Increased ventilation can help. So can germicidal ultraviolet light, which Nardell said may help kill off the virus.
July 21: The state of the global race for a coronavirus vaccine (Axios)
With 17 coronavirus candidates currently being tested, Barry Bloom, Joan L. and Julius H. Jacobson Research Professor of Public Health, said he’s confident that more than one coronavirus vaccine will eventually be available. He said it won’t be known how effective the vaccines are in protecting against COVID-19, and for how long that protection will last, until after phase three trials.
July 21: Leading Harvard expert on disparities urges journalists to be a ‘tiny ripple of hope’ (Center for Health Journalism)
Speaking at the Center for Health Journalism’s 2020 National Fellowship, David R. Williams, Florence Sprague Norman and Laura Smart Norman Professor of Public Health and chair of the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, told reporters that they can play a vital role in helping reduce the sorts of health disparities that have led to COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on people of color.
July 20: Early Research Encouraging On Two Potential Coronavirus Vaccines (CBS Miami)
Barry Bloom, Joan L. and Julius H. Jacobson Research Professor of Public Health, quoted
July 20: The federal government must pay for distribution of the COVID vaccine (The Hill)
Procuring enough coronavirus vaccines to protect the American public could cost about $50 billion. But Jeff Levin-Scherz, assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, argued in an op-ed that “this is a small price compared to the death, illness and economic loss that continued waves of infection would inflict.”
July 20: UK’s Oxford University coronavirus vaccine candidate is safe and effective with few side effects, early trial results show (USA Today)
Promising early trial results from two coronavirus vaccine candidates are “very exciting,” said Barry Bloom, Joan L. and Julius H. Jacobson Research Professor of Public Health. “The unlikely possibility that we will have vaccines ready for approval and large-scale distribution by the end of the year—which seemed utterly crazy seven months ago—may well be a real possibility.”
July 20: At least 120,000 Americans are needed to test COVID-19 vaccines. A ‘very encouraging’ 107,000 are so far signed up. (USA Today)
Barry Bloom, Joan L. and Julius H. Jacobson Research Professor of Public Health, quoted
July 20: Parties and nightclubs: The new hotspots of coronavirus outbreaks in Spain (El Paìs)
Miguel Hernán, Kolokotrones Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, quoted
July 20: Doing our homework to get kids back to school (Boston Globe)
In an op-ed, Ashish Jha, K.T. Li Professor of Global Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, wrote that it’s possible to reopen schools amid the coronavirus pandemic, but much work must be done first to substantially lower the level of COVID-19 in communities and to get school buildings ready to open safely.
July 20: Listen to the science and reopen schools (Boston Globe)
Science suggests that “schools can—and should—reopen for in-person learning with appropriate risk reduction strategies, while officials also implement aggressive steps to keep community transmission low,” according to an op-ed by four Harvard Chan School experts, including Benjamin Sommers, professor of health policy and economics, Joseph Allen, assistant professor of exposure assessment science, Sara Bleich, professor of public health policy, and Jessica Cohen, Bruce A. Beal, Robert L. Beal, and Alexander S. Beal Associate Professor of Global Health.
July 20: A Surprise Surge in Air Pollution May Be Causing More Coronavirus Complications (Elemental)
An uptick in air pollution, caused by relaxed federal air quality standards, has been linked with increases in COVID-19 deaths in industrialized areas of the U.S. Other research shows that people living in polluted areas are more likely to be infected by COVID-19 and to become sicker and more likely to die from it. “With a pandemic that we know affects our lungs,” the environmental rollbacks will “further increase health and environmental injustice,” said Francesca Dominici, Clarence James Gamble Professor of Biostatistics, Population and Data Science and co-director of the Harvard Data Science Initiative.
July 19: Testing Backlogs May Cloud the True Spread of the Coronavirus (New York Times)
Pamela Martinez, postdoctoral research fellow in the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, quoted
July 19: Why more young people are getting sick in the latest Covid-19 outbreaks (Vox)
Thomas Tsai, assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, quoted
July 19: Some Knox County COVID-19 results come back so slowly that contact tracing is irrelevant (Knoxville News)
Yonatan Grad, Melvin J. and Geraldine L. Glimcher Assistant Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, quoted
July 19: Widespread PFAS chemical pollution will likely make COVID-19 worse (Salon)
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs)—a class of chemicals that has been linked with harming the immune system—could be making people more vulnerable to COVID-19, according to Philippe Grandjean, adjunct professor of environmental health.
July 19: Meditation and yoga might aid Covid-19 treatment, says study (Hindustan Times)
Research co-authored by Dean Michelle Williams cited
July 18: Older Children Spread the Coronavirus Just as Much as Adults, Large Study Finds (New York Times)
Ashish Jha, K.T. Li Professor of Global Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, and William Hanage, associate professor of epidemiology, quoted
July 18: ‘The virus doesn’t care about excuses’: US faces terrifying autumn as Covid-19 surges (The Guardian)
The coronavirus is surging across the U.S. amid testing delays, scarce contact tracing, dwindling supplies of protective equipment, and near-capacity emergency rooms. William Hanage, associate professor of epidemiology, said, “There is no way in which a large number of cases of disease, and indeed a large number of deaths, are going to be avoided.” He added, “What I would hope is that this marks a point when the United States finally wakes up and realizes that this is a pandemic and starts taking it seriously.”
July 17: Public health care leaders urge national ‘reset button’ in COVID-19 fight (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
William Hanage, associate professor of epidemiology, was among a group of public health experts who joined with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group in signing an open letter urging political leaders to shut down American cities and towns amid surging coronavirus cases and deaths.
July 17: Bring back the coronavirus briefings immediately (CNN.com)
In an op-ed, Howard Koh, Harvey V. Fineberg Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership and former assistant Health and Human Services secretary during the Obama administration, argued that the Trump administration should recommit to a daily improved briefing about the coronavirus, grounded in science, that puts public health experts at the forefront.
July 17: Smartphones and COVID-19 transmission: What we know so far (Good Morning America)
To minimize the risk of COVID-19 infection, Joseph Allen, assistant professor of exposure assessment science, said that people can wipe down high-touch surfaces, like those on smartphones, with a solution with at least 70% alcohol.
July 17: India Surpasses 1 Million Coronavirus Cases, Prompting Fears for the Health Care System (TIME Magazine)
Ashish Jha, K.T. Li Professor of Global Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, quoted
July 17: Which sparks set off Miami’s COVID wildfire? The clues are in the cases, experts say (Miami Herald)
So-called “super spreading events”—where one person can infect dozens or even hundreds of others—and travel patterns may be among the reasons why Miami-Dade County became a COVID-19 hot spot, according to William Hanage, associate professor of epidemiology.
July 17: Summer Youth Baseball Leagues Get Back To Playing Ball (WGBH)
Youth baseball leagues are one of the few sports that have been deemed safe enough to return in Massachusetts amid the coronavirus pandemic. William Hanage, associate professor of epidemiology, said youth sports may pose a lower risk, partly because children are less likely to suffer severe effects from COVID-19, and partly because they’re less likely to become infected because they’re outdoors.
July 16: How Much Should You Worry About Air Conditioning and COVID-19? (Slate)
Air conditioning systems that bring in fresh air, air cleaners, and germicidal ultraviolet lamps can help minimize the spread of the coronavirus in indoor spaces, according to Edward Nardell, professor in the Departments of Environmental Health and Immunology and Infectious Diseases.
July 16: NSF rapid grants awarded to coronavirus response projects (Harvard Gazette)
Philip Demokritou, associate professor of aerosol physics, is one of nine Harvard researchers receiving National Science Foundation’s Rapid Response Research (RAPID) grants for coronavirus projects. Demokritou and his team plan to figure out a way to use a nanotechnology-based carrier platform to inactivate the virus.
July 16: Same old labs but not (Harvard Gazette)
Sarah Fortune, John LaPorte Given Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases and chair of the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, and PhD students Caroline Keroack and Alexandra Probst quoted
July 16: We missed one chance to open schools safely. Here’s the new, more expensive, option. (Washington Post)
Op-ed by Harvard University’s Danielle Allen cites research from the Harvard Global Health Institute and a report on schools from Harvard Chan School’s Healthy Buildings program
July 16: Why Summer Didn’t Slow Down COVID-19 (Newsy)
The fact that the coronavirus is a new virus, with most people in the world still susceptible to infection, could be a reason why it hasn’t shown seasonality like other viruses such as the flu, according to Roger Shapiro, associate professor of immunology and infectious diseases.
July 16: CDC: Most COVID-19 cases in New York City in March traced to Europe (UPI)
William Hanage, associate professor of epidemiology, quoted
July 16: Can schools safely reopen? This public health expert says yes… (WGN Chicago)
In a TV interview, Joseph Allen, assistant professor of exposure assessment science, talked about the negative impacts of kids not attending school, and about using proven risk reduction strategies to help schools open safely during the coronavirus pandemic.
July 16: Exclusive: White House Document Shows 18 States in Coronavirus “Red Zone” (Center for Public Integrity)
An unpublicized White House document recommended that more than a dozen U.S. States with more than 100 new coronavirus cases per 100,000 population should revert to more stringent social distancing measures. Ashish Jha, K.T. Li Professor of Global Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, said he thought the information and recommendations in the document were mostly good, but wondered why it’s not public. “Why are we hiding this information from the American people?” he asked. “This should be published and updated every day.”
July 16: How HHS’s new hospital data reporting system will actually affect the U.S. Covid-19 response (STAT)
Public health officials and experts are scrambling to understand the impact of the Department of Health and Human Services’ decision to require that COVID-19 data be sent directly to the agency, rather than both to HHS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Some are worried that the change will impede the country’s COVID-19 response, and may be an attempt to diminish the CDC’s role. “The Trump administration should be working with the CDC, supporting the CDC, and taking the CDC’s advice, rather than anything other than that,” said William Hanage, associate professor of epidemiology.
July 16: Scores of academics call for ‘human challenge’ trials of coronavirus vaccine (Boston Globe)
In an open letter to Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, 125 academics and other prominent figures called for the consideration of human challenge trials of experimental coronavirus vaccines. In such trials, small numbers of volunteers are vaccinated and then deliberately infected with the virus to see if the vaccine works. “I think we need to prepare for human challenge trials and for the possibility that we will need to do them,” said Marc Lipsitch, professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics.
July 16: Long lines, delayed results: virus surge overwhelms testing in Georgia (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Delays in COVID-19 testing results in Georgia and other states mean that the results “could be a waste,” said Megan Murray, professor in the Department of Epidemiology. Delayed results can hamper efforts such as contact tracing and make it more likely that people could continue to transmit the virus while waiting for results. “The whole point is to get information back to people while they still have an opportunity to do something about it,” she said. “If you don’t know until after the infectious period, it’s not helping you.”
July 16: Cellphone data shows Massachusetts’ slow return to near-normal (WCVB)
Caroline Buckee, associate professor of epidemiology, quoted
July 16: Federal Missteps on Covid-19 Data and Testing (New York Times)
In a letter to the editor of the New York Times, Dean Michelle Williams called the White House’s recent decision to bypass the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on COVID-19 case reports “public health malfeasance on a massive scale.”
July 16: Study suggests undetected cases help speed COVID-19 spread (Harvard Gazette)
A modeling study co-authored by Xihong Lin, professor of biostatistics, suggests that people infected with COVID-19 who went undetected or were asymptomatic, presymptomatic, or had only mild symptoms have been significant spreaders of the disease.
July 16: Growing Wait Times for Covid-19 Test Results Hinder Virus Response(Wall Street Journal)
Research fellow Stephen Kissler quoted
July 16: ‘You can beat the pandemic.’ Former front-line workers share tips for coping with the COVID-19 surge (USA Today)
Thomas Tsai, assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, quoted
July 15: WHO’s Next — The United States and the World Health Organization (New England Journal of Medicine)
In an editorial, Barry Bloom, Joan L. and Julius H. Jacobson Research Professor of Public Health, Partners in Health co-founder Paul Farmer, and Eric Rubin, adjunct professor of immunology and infectious diseases and editor of NEJM, compared the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO) to shutting down the Forest Service in the midst of a massive fire because its firefighters made mistakes in fighting the blaze. They argued that, although WHO is not perfect, it is very much needed amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
July 15: Attacks on Fauci reflect Trump’s problem of what to do about high-profile adviser with a penchant for straight talk (USA Today)
The White House has been criticizing Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, over his advice regarding the coronavirus pandemic. Howard Koh, Harvey V. Fineberg Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership and former assistant Health and Human Services secretary during the Obama administration, said that Fauci’s presence is needed now more than ever. “Time and again the country has always turned to Tony to give the top-level scientific insight and guidance going forward,” said Koh. “In a time like this, with the worst pandemic we’ve had in a century, we need Dr. Fauci front and center every day.”
July 16: How Taiwan beat the coronavirus (CNBC)
Quarantines, contact tracing, and wide availability of face masks have helped Taiwan keep coronavirus cases at a minimum. William Hsaio, K.T. Li Professor of Economics, Emeritus, said Taiwan has a community-oriented mentality—in contrast to American individualism—that has helped the country tackle the pandemic in a more unified way, with very few people declining to follow public health recommendations.
July 15: Three Tips for Schools to Reopen Safely (Wall Street Journal)
Recent report on how to safely reopen schools, from Harvard Chan School’s Healthy Buildings program, cited
July 15: Citing educational risks, scientific panel urges that schools reopen (Boston Globe)
Ashish Jha, K.T. Li Professor of Global Health and director of the Harvard Global Health Institute (HGHI), quoted
July 15: ‘This is silliness’: Harvard’s Ashish Jha condemns CDC director’s suggestion that travelers from northern states to blame for COVID-19 outbreaks in south (Boston.com)
Ashish Jha, K.T. Li Professor of Global Health and director of the Harvard Global Health Institute (HGHI), quoted
July 15: Spring’s coronavirus surge was bad, but 32 states are doing much worse now (USA Today)
Most U.S. states are adding coronavirus cases faster than in their worst week in the spring, and some are having their worst week for new coronavirus deaths, according to a USA Today analysis. William Hanage, associate professor of epidemiology, said that increasing cases in some southern states are a consequence “of basically giving the virus more opportunity to transmit” by relaxing safeguards. “If you want to stop that, stop giving it the chance.”
July 16: CDC director predicts this fall and winter will be ‘one of the most difficult times we’ve experienced in American public health’ (Business Insider)
Howard Koh, Harvey V. Fineberg Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership, said that people’s behavior over the next few weeks could influence the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths that occur in the fall and blunt the possible impact of an overlap of the coronavirus and seasonal flu. “What we can accomplish in the long run depends so much on whether we can maximize the power of prevention based on the tools we have: face masks, social distancing, and hygiene,” he said.
July 15: Coronavirus flare up wreaks havoc south of U.S. border (Washington Times)
William Hanage, associate professor of epidemiology, quoted
July 14: What Happens When A Pandemic And An Epidemic Collide (NPR)
Experts are worried that the coronavirus pandemic will disrupt the supply of AIDS drugs because of closed borders, because quarantines slow down drug manufacturing, or because some AIDS prevention programs will be defunded amid economic losses. Roger Shapiro, associate professor of immunology and infectious diseases, noted that the drug shortage concern is serious because patients on AIDS drugs must stick to their regimen every single day.
July 14: Need some good news about covid-19? Here are six reasons for optimism. (Washington Post)
Progress is being made in COVID-19 treatments, testing, and vaccines, and there’s growing agreement about ways to curb the spread of infection, wrote Joseph Allen, assistant professor of exposure assessment science, in an op-ed.
July 14: Long waits for test results spark new COVID-19 fears (The Hill)
Waiting times for COVID-19 test results are stretching to seven days in some U.S. locations, magnifying the risk that an infected person has already spread COVID-19 and making it too late to effectively implement contact tracing, say experts. Michael Mina, assistant professor of epidemiology, said that testing results would ideally come back within a day or less.
July 14: Long lines, delayed results, and lacking access: Here’s the latest on coronavirus testing in Mass. (Boston.com)
Thomas Tsai, assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, quoted
July 14: Conspiracy Theories Aside, Here’s What Contact Tracers Really Do (Iowa Public Radio)
Howard Koh, Harvey V. Fineberg Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership, quoted
July 14: Trump gave up on fighting the virus. Now we’re paying for his laziness. (Washington Post)
In this op-ed about the national response to COVID-19, Mary Bassett, director of the François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University, and Natalia Linos, executive director of the FXB Center, cited “a failure by this administration to do the hard work needed to coordinate and orchestrate a federal response, to provide clear risk communication to the public — including, for example, the importance of mask-wearing — and to use emergency powers and flexible resources to support the necessary response to surging case counts.”
July 14: COVID-19 and heat: Temperatures, coronavirus cases climb in tandem across the US (Fox32 Chicago)
COVID-19 transmission is not significantly affected by the change in seasons, according to William Hanage, associate professor of epidemiology.
July 14: A New Understanding of Herd Immunity (The Atlantic)
Based on the U.S. response to the coronavirus, Marc Lipsitch, professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, believes that the nation is likely to see the virus spread to the point of becoming endemic. That would mean that the virus would be with us indefinitely, and the current pandemic would end only when we reach “herd immunity”—defined as when enough people in the population become immune so that the spread of the virus is largely contained.
July 13: Too little too late: The story of how Florida shattered the country’s single-day COVID record (ABC News)
Howard Koh, Harvey V. Fineberg Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership, quoted
July 13: A closer look at mask data shows health, economic benefits (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
Op-ed co-authored by Nicolaas Pronk, adjunct professor of social and behavioral sciences
July 13: Trump cites game show host on pandemic while undercutting doctors and questioning their expertise (Washington Post)
As the coronavirus surges across the U.S., President Trump has been undercutting advice from public health officials and questioning measures such as masks and social distancing. “When the president is calling the guidance wrong and endorsing the view that these public health experts are lying, it makes it incredibly difficult for the public to know what to do,” said Benjamin Sommers, professor of health policy and economics. “It erodes the long-term ability of our government to provide one of its basic goals, which is to protect the public safety.”
July 13: As COVID-19 cases surge nationwide, we asked Chicagoans: Why are you getting tested? (Chicago Tribune)
Thomas Tsai, assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, quoted
July 13: What We Know (and Don’t) About Catching Covid-19 Outdoors (Medium)
William Hanage, associate professor of epidemiology, and Marc Lipsitch, professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, quoted
July 13: Louisiana’s Governor Orders That Masks Must Be Worn (WBUR)
With COVID-19 cases surging in many U.S. states, Ashish Jha, K.T. Li Professor of Global Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, said requiring everyone to wear face masks would be a smart move.
July 12: As schools prepare to reopen, the gap between 3 and 6 feet is feeling hard to bridge (Boston Globe)
Joseph Allen, assistant professor of exposure assessment science, said he supports Massachusetts guidelines calling for three feet of distance between students in classrooms, as long as other measures, such as masks and good air ventilation, are part of the strategy to minimize the risk of coronavirus infection.
July 11: One step forward, 2 steps back: Harvard’s Dr. Thomas Tsai assesses Trump’s response to COVID-19, and tells us his fears and hopes about the months ahead (Business Insider)
Thomas Tsai, assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, was featured in this Q&A.
July 11: Coronavirus deaths take a long-expected turn for the worse (Los Angeles Times)
William Hanage, associate professor of epidemiology, quoted
July 10: Harvard study: Texas needs to do more COVID-19 testing (KHOU Houston)
As of Friday, July 10, Texas was performing roughly 156 COVID-19 tests for every 100,000 people. But the state may need to test 10 times that number in order to truly suppress the pandemic, according to Thomas Tsai, assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, who is part of a team at the Harvard Global Health Institute that estimates testing needs across the U.S.
July 10: Despite hopes that it would, summer weather has not stopped virus’s spread in the U.S. (Washington Post)
New cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. reached their highest levels in July and are continuing to increase. Aaron Bernstein, interim director of the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment (Harvard Chan C-CHANGE), said the trend shows that warm weather and humidity are “clearly not enough to stop widespread transmission.” Bernstein said the situation won’t improve if people don’t take common-sense precautions. “At this point, we have no choice but to socially distance,” he said. “To not do so, to not wear masks—to choose supposed freedom through flouting science and knowledge to endanger our fellow citizens—will only land us in deeper trouble.”
July 10: ‘STOP GETTING TESTED’ for COVID-19, Ohio lawmaker tells public (Fox News)
Ashish Jha, K.T. Li Professor of Global Health and director of the Harvard Global Health Institute (HGHI), quoted
July 10: COVID-19 ‘superspreaders’: Experts say 1 person can transmit virus at gatherings, with tragic consequences (Fox News)
In a television interview, Sarah Fortune, John LaPorte Given Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases and chair of the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, discussed the role of “superspreaders” in transmitting the coronavirus. A superspreader event occurs when “a lot of transmission is driven by a very few number of people who are seeding lots and lots of cases,” and tends to happen when people gather indoors, she said.
July 10: Public health experts weigh in on herd immunity in Alabama. They are not optimistic. (AL.com)
Although some in Alabama have said they want to fight the coronavirus by reaching herd immunity—when a majority of a population is immune, thus curbing disease spread—by allowing more people to get sick, public health experts say that’s a dangerous proposition. “Taking it on the chin can be a pretty dangerous approach,” said research fellow Stephen Kissler. “That burden of herd immunity will be paid for with the health and lives of the least privileged members of society.”
July 10: Why heat waves and Covid-19 can be a dangerous combination (Vox)
Postdoctoral fellow Parham Azimi said that it’s plausible that the coronavirus could spread through ductwork in buildings, particularly those with low ventilation rates or without air purifiers and filtration.
July 9: Ashish Jha of Harvard University on COVID-19 pandemic and policy solutions for India| In Focus podcast (The Hindu)
Ashish Jha, K.T. Li Professor of Global Health and director of the Harvard Global Health Institute (HGHI), discussed the epidemiological basis of the coronavirus pandemic and possible policy solutions to help control the spread of disease in India.
July 9: What You Should Do While You Wait for Covid-19 Test Results (Wall Street Journal)
With some people waiting a week or more for COVID-19 test results, experts say individuals should self-isolate as much as possible while waiting for results. Megan Murray, professor in the Department of Epidemiology, suggested sleeping in a different room from others, using a different bathroom, wearing a mask indoors, and avoiding food preparation.
July 9: Arts This Week: Museum Reopenings, Healthy Theaters And Idris Goodwin (WGBH)
Joseph Allen, assistant professor of exposure assessment science, said that it doesn’t have to cost a lot to have a healthy building. Said Allen, “In fact, upgrading your filters costs a couple of dollars, really, and so I’ve been careful to say, ‘Look, these are control strategies that nearly every building can do right now.’”
July 9: Special Report: Bolsonaro Bets ‘Miraculous Cure’ for COVID-19 Can Save Brazil-And His Life (New York Times)
Marcia Castro, Andelot Professor of Demography and chair of the Department of Global Health and Population, called Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro’s touting of the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 a “totally absurd” strategy, given that studies haven’t proven its effectiveness or safety for the disease and given other reliable tools to curb the spread of infection, including testing, tracing, and social distancing.
July 9: By Investing in Pre-K, We Can Create a Generation of Pandemic-Resistant Adults (Mother Jones)
David R. Williams, Florence Sprague Norman and Laura Smart Norman Professor of Public Health and chair of the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, said that racial and economic inequality has led to health disparities that make COVID-19 particularly deadly for African Americans. He argued for creating a new kind of “herd immunity” among disadvantaged populations by changing the social and economic conditions that put them at high risk for disease in the first place.
July 9: Not US or Brazil, Study Says THIS Country Will Top Coronavirus Chaos Chart by 2021 (International Business Times)
Ashish Jha, K.T. Li Professor of Global Health and director of the Harvard Global Health Institute (HGHI), quoted
July 8: America Is Testing For COVID-19 More Than Ever — And It Still Isn’t Enough (FiveThirtyEight)
Ashish Jha, K.T. Li Professor of Global Health and director of the Harvard Global Health Institute (HGHI), and Thomas Tsai, assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, quoted
July 8: Why the US is falling behind in COVID-19 fight (The Hill)
While the European Union has largely suppressed new cases of the coronavirus, U.S. cases are surging. “Other countries have taken it seriously and we have not,” said Ashish Jha, K.T. Li Professor of Global Health and director of the Harvard Global Health Institute (HGHI). Jha was also quoted on the U.S. response to COVID-19 in a July 7 KHOU (Houston) article.
July 8: What accessing preventive health care should look like after the pandemic (Fortune)
During Fortune’s virtual Brainstorm Health conference, Dean Michelle Williams spoke about ways to promote health and wellness and prevent disease.
July 8: Is it time for your business to hire a chief public health officer? (Fortune)
As companies struggle with questions around how to conduct business safely during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dean Michelle Williams discussed her hope that public health considerations will become a regular part of business plans and that companies will create a new position of chief public health officer.
July 7: Can the AC filter in your home, office or local mall protect you from Covid-19? (CNN)
Joseph Allen, assistant professor of exposure assessment science, discussed the importance of ventilation and filtration in keeping indoor spaces as safe as possible during the coronavirus pandemic.
July 7: W.H.O. to Review Evidence of Airborne Transmission of Coronavirus (New York Times)
William Hanage, associate professor of epidemiology, quoted
July 7: WHO Under Fire Over COVID-19 Transmission Route (VOA)
A group of 239 scientists argue that airborne transmission of the coronavirus is a significant factor in transmission, and they’re urging the World Health Organization to change its health recommendations accordingly. Ashish Jha, K.T. Li Professor of Global Health and director of the Harvard Global Health Institute (HGHI), said he thinks the evidence on airborne transmission is good but that, “for whatever reason, it doesn’t seem to be meeting [WHO’s] threshold for certainty, which I think is clearly too high.”
July 7: Harvard professor believes AC may be contributing to spike in COVID-19 cases down south (Boston 25 News)
Edward Nardell, professor in the Departments of Environmental Health and Immunology and Infectious Diseases, said that air-conditioned spaces, where coronavirus particles can linger for hours and where the same air is often recirculated, can contribute to the spread of infection. Nardell was also quoted about air conditioning and the coronavirus in a July 8 WebMD article.
July 7: Coronavirus stays under control in Massachusetts, while infections continue to surge in the south (Boston Herald)
William Hanage, associate professor of epidemiology, quoted
July 7: How the White House can build public trust and end the coronavirus crisis (Politico)
Clear messaging about the risks posed by the coronavirus is key to helping curb its spread, say experts. Marc Lipsitch, professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, recommended that the White House allow public health experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “to be on the front lines talking to the country every day.”
July 7: This Fall, Classrooms Will Be Too Crowded. Theaters and Malls Will Be Empty. We See a Solution. (New York Magazine)
Joseph Allen, assistant professor of exposure assessment science, quoted
July 6: Months Into Virus Crisis, U.S. Cities Still Lack Testing Capacity (New York Times)
Michael Mina, assistant professor of epidemiology, quoted
July 6: What It Would Take to Safely Reopen Schools (GEN)
Joseph Allen, assistant professor of exposure assessment science, discussed how to make school buildings safe amid the coronavirus pandemic.
July 6: Why a Harvard doctor has worries as Massachusetts enters Phase 3 (Boston.com)
As Massachusetts moves to reopen gyms, theaters, and museums, Ashish Jha, K.T. Li Professor of Global Health and director of the Harvard Global Health Institute (HGHI), said he’s worried that people congregating indoors could increase the spread of COVID-19 and make it more difficult to reopen schools in the fall.
July 6: Contact tracing effort scaled way back (Commonwealth Magazine)
John McDonough, professor of the practice of public health, moderated an interview with Joia Mukherjee, chief medical officer at Partners in Health, about the organization’s contact tracing work for the state of Massachusetts.
July 6: Trump’s False Claim on Coronavirus Harm (FactCheck.org)
Ashish Jha, K.T. Li Professor of Global Health and director of the Harvard Global Health Institute (HGHI), quoted
July 6: ‘Almost like a social pandemic’: As states pause reopenings, experts warn of more confusion, isolation, agitation (USA Today)
Sarah Fortune, John LaPorte Given Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases and chair of the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, quoted
July 6: Are Protests Unsafe? What Experts Say May Depend on Who’s Protesting What (New York Times)
Mary Bassett, director of the François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University, quoted
July 6: What Restaurants Need to Reopen: a Flattened Infection Curve and Fresh Air (Wall Street Journal)
Edward Nardell, professor in the Departments of Environmental Health and Immunology and Infectious Diseases, quoted
July 6: How to Protect America’s Public Health System From Leaders Like Trump (Mother Jones)
To build an infrastructure to survive poor political leadership, Ashish Jha, K.T. Li Professor of Global Health and director of the Harvard Global Health Institute (HGHI), recommended bolstering public health data collection capabilities, increasing the workforce of contact tracers, and investing in research on viruses and antiviral therapies.
July 6: 239 Experts With One Big Claim: The Coronavirus Is Airborne (New York Times)
William Hanage, associate professor of epidemiology, was quoted about the airborne spread of the coronavirus, following the publication of an open letter about the topic to the World Health Organization. Five Harvard Chan School experts signed the letter, including Joseph Allen, assistant professor of exposure assessment science; Joseph Brain, Cecil K. and Philip Drinker Professor of Environmental Physiology; Philip Demokritou, associate professor of aerosol physics; Edward Nardell, professor in the Departments of Environmental Health and Immunology and Infectious Diseases; and Mary Wilson, adjunct professor of global health and population.
July 6: America’s told-you-so moment: How we botched the reopening (Politico)
Howard Koh, Harvey V. Fineberg Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership, quoted
July 5: The US’s second peak seems to be less deadly than the first — but 80,000 more people are still projected to die from now to November (Business Insider)
Howard Koh, Harvey V. Fineberg Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership, quoted
July 5: The Fullest Look Yet at the Racial Inequity of Coronavirus (New York Times)
Research scientist Jarvis Chen and Mary Bassett, director of the François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University, quoted
July 5: What to do if you are infected: demystifying Covid-19 care (Indian Express)
Co-authored by Satchit Balsari, assistant professor in the Department of Global Health and Population and a fellow at the FXB Center
July 3: Hillary Clinton says she ‘would have done a better job’ at handling the coronavirus pandemic (Business Insider)
Howard Koh, Harvey V. Fineberg Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership, quoted
July 3: How Fauci, 5 other health specialists deal with covid-19 risks in their everyday lives (Washington Post)
Barry Bloom, Joan L. and Julius H. Jacobson Research Professor of Public Health, was among several health experts quoted on their habits during the coronavirus pandemic, such as wearing masks, allowing service people inside their homes, food shopping, handling packages, visiting with family and friends, and exercising.
July 3: Public health experts urge socially distant Fourth of July celebrations, as the coronavirus surges across the U.S. (STAT)
Marc Lipsitch, professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, quoted
July 3: A Cheap, Simple Way to Control the Coronavirus (New York Times)
Michael Mina, assistant professor of epidemiology, co-authored this opinion piece calling for the swift approval of simple at-home tests for the coronavirus, several of which are in the late stages of development at a handful of companies and academic research laboratories.
July 2: The path to zero (Harvard Gazette)
Ashish Jha, K.T. Li Professor of Global Health and director of the Harvard Global Health Institute (HGHI), quoted
July 2: Can an Algorithm Predict the Pandemic’s Next Moves? (New York Times)
Mauricio Santillana, director of the Machine Intelligence Research Lab in the Computational Health Informatics Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, and an assistant professor in Harvard Chan School’s Department of Epidemiology, helped develop an algorithm that could predict coronavirus outbreaks about two weeks before they occur, based on real-time monitoring of Twitter, Google searches and mobility data from smartphones, and other data streams.
July 2: How to stay safe this July 4th (Roll Call)
Marc Lipsitch, professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, was quoted in this video.
July 1: We can reopen schools in the fall — if we close bars and gyms now (Washington Post)
Op-ed co-authored by epidemiologists William Hanage of Harvard Chan School and Helen Jenkins of Boston University
July 1: Experts: If coronavirus cases rise to 100,000 daily, some health care systems could be overloaded (Boston Globe)
Marc Lipsitch, professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, quoted
July 1: The U.S. largely wasted time bought by COVID-19 lockdowns. Now what? (Science News)
Michael Mina, assistant professor of epidemiology, quoted
July 1: No one wants to go back to lockdown. Is there a middle ground for containing Covid-19? (NPR)
Barry Bloom, Joan L. and Julius H. Jacobson Research Professor of Public Health, and William Hanage, associate professor of epidemiology, quoted
July 1: Green, Yellow, Orange Or Red? This New Tool Shows COVID-19 Risk In Your County (NPR)
Research collaboration including Harvard Global Health Institute
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