Why COVID-19 Strategies Built Around the Concept of ‘Herd Immunity’ are Problematic (UW News - Quotes Judy Wasserheit)

The idea of building herd immunity – increasing the number of infected to such a degree that naturally occurring immunity would outstrip the coronavirus, while isolating the elderly and others at greatest risk of the disease – has been tossed around in the United States, the United Kingdom and elsewhere.  This week, however, U.K. officials appear to be backing away from that approach.

In Triaging Coronavirus, Prioritize Vulnerable, Health-Care Workers (Seattle Times - Written by John Lynch and Karin Huster)

By John Lynch (MPH '11) and Karin Huster (MPH '13)

As we swiftly surpass 100,000 cases and 4,000 deaths globally, every one of us is understandably rattled and may be asking, will I be next? Will I get infected with COVID-19? Will I end up in the hospital? Will it kill me, my family or friends?

UW Pandemic Expert Explains Our Obsession with COVID-19 (Crosscut - by Peter Rabinowitz)

A viral illness spreads across Washington state, causing respiratory illness. Most cases are mild, but some are severe and even fatal. At the same time it causes many fewer illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths than the seasonal flu. So why are we obsessed with this COVID-19? Why is it that pharmacies have run out of surgical masks and hand sanitizer, and people no longer feel shy about wearing a mask in public? Why are conferences and classes getting canceled and governors declaring states of emergency when we don’t do that with seasonal flu?

We're all in this Together: Coronavirus Lessons from Hong Kong (Seattle Times Op-Ed by Karin Huster, MPH '13)

HONG KONG — It’s been hard to be far away from home, watching a pandemic of panic over the new coronavirus ripple across the world.

A month ago I left Seattle for Hong Kong — a city of 7.3 million bordering mainland China and one of the planet’s most densely populated — as part of a Doctors Without Borders effort to rein in the widespread fear gripping the city as it began to wrestle with a virus the world knew little about.

That fear has now reached home.

Coronavirus Panel Addresses Mounting Concerns (The Daily - Quotes Judy Wasserheit)

The UW MetaCenter for Pandemic Preparedness and Global Health Security aimed to address the panic surrounding new cases [of coronavirus] and inform attendees of the proper behavior moving forward.

The MetaCenter hosted a coronavirus and pandemic disease preparedness panel Feb. 19, comprised of 14 experts, ranging from Washington state health officials to UW researchers. 

Coronavirus Cases Seemed to Be Leveling Off. Not Anymore (New York Times - Quotes Peter Rabinowitz)

The news seemed to be positive: The number of new coronavirus cases reported in China over the past week suggested that the outbreak might be slowing — that containment efforts were working.

But on Thursday, officials added more than 14,840 cases to the tally of the infected in Hubei province alone, bringing the total number to 48,206, the largest one-day increase so far recorded. The death toll in the province rose to 1,310, including 242 new deaths.

UW Professor Tracks Critical Coronavirus Information in Real Time

Gathering information in real time that is critical to gaining a better understanding of the coronavirus is the goal of a project being undertaken by UW Assistant Professor David Pigott, as part of team that includes multiple organizations around the world. The team is tracking publicly reported confirmed cases of the 2019 novel Coronavirus throughout the world.

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