coronavirus

The Race to a Vaccine

April 5, 2020 by Mia Tellmann Leave a Comment

Scientists in a high security lab. Picture by Shutterstock

I hope everyone is safe and healthy! I wanted to share some news about the ongoing creation of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. While social distancing is the best way to slow the spread of Coronavirus and flatten the curve of infections to make sure that hospitals are not overwhelmed, to return to full normalcy, we need to discover, test, and administer a vaccine in large quantities. The good news is that there are currently 35 companies racing to create a vaccine and at least 52 vaccine programs underway.

The Climate Connection

March 10, 2020 by Mia Tellmann Leave a Comment

Climate change will not only increase the risk of vector-borne pathogens, but also of water- and food-borne ones. Picture by Shutterstock

This week has proven to be a tumultuous week in which the steady rise of coronavirus cases in the US has led to more aggressive measures for outbreak control. The National Guard has been called to a neighboring town to contain the outbreak. On a personal note, my school district has closed as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. I originally created this blog as a way to spread awareness of the importance of public health preparedness, as it was an undervalued topic. However, times have changed and public health and emergency management are at the forefront of news and public policy today as a result of COVID-19.

Setting Priorities: Coronavirus Preparedness in the US

February 29, 2020 by Mia Tellmann Leave a Comment

How can the coronavirus outbreak be mitigated? Picture by Shutterstock

The US seems behind in its efforts to contain the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. Learnings from other countries, in particular Italy and Germany, indicate that infections have already spread widely in communities and can no longer be traced and controlled. These countries are ahead of the curve and there is no reason to believe that developments in the US will not follow this same path. Continue Reading

The Difficulty of Predicting the Coronavirus Trajectory

February 17, 2020 by Mia Tellmann Leave a Comment

How fast will the new coronavirus spread? Biostatisticians are trying to predict its pattern. Picture by Shutterstock.

There is currently a debate about the trajectory of the new coronavirus disease, now named COVID-19. Different models are predicting different outcomes and numbers provided by Chinese authorities seem to indicate a steep increase in cases. Continue Reading

Interesting Read on the Challenges of a Centralized System when Combatting an Epidemic

February 10, 2020 by Mia Tellmann Leave a Comment

Centralized or decentralized – which government system is more efficient at outbreak control? Picture by Shutterstock

While the numbers of infections and deaths from the novel coronavirus are accelerating and the peak of the crisis is projected to still be a few weeks away (1), the question of whether China’s centralized governmental system has been helping or hurting outbreak control remains. Continue Reading

WHO Declares Global Health Emergency

January 30, 2020 by Mia Tellmann Leave a Comment

WHO declares Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Picture by Shutterstock

The continuous spread of the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) led the World Health Organization to declare a global health emergency today. WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that the main reason for the declaration “is not what is happening in China but what is happening in other countries”. Ghebreyesus made sure to praise the measures and the ways in which Chinese authorities are controlling this outbreak. Continue Reading