COVID-19 Research News

This article was first published in Duke Today

Duke Associate Professor of Biology Steve Haase likes to compare the spread of COVID-19 to the haphazard advance of a forest fire, where tiny glowing embers, which he likens to the virus, drift in the air, among trees bringing potential harm whatever they touch.

The

Dr. Viviana Martinez-Bianchi has long been focused on health equity. When the coronavirus pandemic struck, she turned to the local community, helping launch an effort to get better information in the hands of area Hispanic residents.

Together with her pediatrician colleague Gabriela Maradiaga Panayotti, Martinez-Bianchi launched a campaign called Latin-19 in March to help educate North Carolina’s Latinx communities about COVID-19.

As we face the challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, Duke staff and faculty everywhere are stepping up to keep the important work of the university and health system going. In an effort to highlight contributions, we've started a new feature, "Dedicated Devils."

A multi-disciplinary scientific advisory board will provide rapid readouts of data on epidemiology, infection transmission rates, and other research. The pilot project, which is funded by the NIH, creates a model with potential to expand to additional school districts across the nation.

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) Board of Education announced Thursday evening at its meeting a new partnership with the Duke University School of Medicine that will enable informed decision-making and implementation of district procedures in response to COVID-19.

As the 2020 freedom-vs-facemask culture war rages on in America’s social media feeds and grocery store checkout aisles, a panel of Duke experts suggests an empathetic, non-adversarial approach to get more people to cover up.

The advice came during a weekly media briefing Wednesday featuring three Duke professors who took questions from reporters regarding the challenges of public health messaging.

Here are excerpts:

Two Duke doctors discuss reasons, possible solutions in media briefing

COVID-19 has shone a stark light on America’s economic and racial health disparities, proving there is no one-size-fits-all strategy to test and treat people for the disease, two Duke experts emphasized Thursday.

The pandemic has illuminated the struggles minority populations have in obtaining good information, getting tested and finding help when infected. But there are ways to improve the situation, the two health experts said.

This article was first published by the Duke Center for Applied Genomics and Precision Medicine

Speculation that a vaccine for COVID-19 might be widely available by the end of this year is overly optimistic, three Duke experts said Wednesday.

While there may be substantial scientific progress by the end of 2020, there will still be significant manufacturing hurdles to clear before a vaccine is available to most people, the experts said during a briefing for media.

Below are excerpts from the briefing:

ON DR. ANTHONY FAUCI’S RECENT TESTIMONY ABOUT A VACCINE BY THE END OF 2020

David Ridley, health economist

Duke doctors brief media on how best to move forward in the pandemic

If you’re in public and see someone wearing a mask, that person is doing it for your benefit.

So return the favor.

That was one of several themes to emerge Thursday from a media briefing featuring two Duke medical scholars with vast expertise in vaccines, immunology and the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19.

Drs. Sallie Permar and Cameron Wolfe took questions for an hour on myriad issues. Here are excerpts: