Conversations about COVID-19

Pitt Public Health brings together a variety of experts to have a conversation about different aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic and address questions from seminar attendees. The goal of the seminar series is to provide our school community, alumni, and the public with credible information about the virus and the associated health impacts. 

View past sessions below and stay tuned for future sessions. 

Recent Session Summaries & Recordings

Biden coronavirus task force appointee Michael Osterholm discusses "The COVID Pandemic: The Evolving Reality" (video)

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In a special IDM Seminar, Michael T. Osterholm answers questions regarding the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection, public health strategies to reduce transmission, and thoughts on how the world will likely look one year from now. Osterholm was recently appointed to President-elect Biden's coronavirus task force and directs the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.  

Disinformation & Misinformation: Politics, Pandemics & Public Health

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In the final fall session of Conversations about COVID-19 seminar series, Jaime Sidani and Michael Colaresi join BCHS doctoral student Beth Hoffman to discuss ways that public health can address dis/misinformation in the era of COVID-19, with a particular focus on implications for COVID-19 vaccine acceptance.  

CDC NIOSH's Response to PPE Challenges During COVID-19

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As part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) has responded ot the unique personal protective equipment (PPE) challenges that have arisen during COVID-19. This presentation, with Maryann D'Alessandro, PhD, and John Powers, both of the NPPTL, provides an overview of their response to COVID-19 and effort... 

Pennsylvania State Response to COVID-19

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Wendy Braund, COVID-19 response director, Pennsylvania Department of Health, leads a conversation about the Pennsylvania Department of Health response to COVID-19, addressing the current situation and containment and mitigation efforts.   

COVID-19 & Health Disparities

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As part of the Conversations about COVID-19 seminar series, EPI doctoral candidate Chantele Mitchell Miland , and Pitt's director of health sciences diversity, equity, and inclusion, Mario Browne (BCHS '05), discuss COVID-19 and health disparities.  

Conversations about COVID-19

 

COVID-19 News Headlines

Albert on how Pittsburgh’s paid sick leave policy might help slow the spread of coronavirus 

Albert on how Pittsburgh’s paid sick leave policy might help slow the spread of coronavirus

90.5 WESA - A 2013 Pitt study simulating flu transmissions found that universal access to paid sick leave reduced workplace flu infections by 6 percent. BCHS’ Steven Albert estimated that about 12 percent of flu transmissions occur in the workplace, largely when people come to work feeling sick. He... (03/19/2020)

Wenzel on the pandemic and EOH response 

Wenzel on the pandemic and EOH response

"I'm anxious, like many of us. Uncertainty is having a big impact on our society. So the virus itself, the medical responses to it, whether overwhelmed or not, and then the psycho-socioeconomic impact, in some variation of percentages, are likely to have longterm impact on our society as we know it... (03/13/2020)

Burke responds: Can you get coronavirus twice? 

Burke responds: Can you get coronavirus twice?

NEWSWEEK - Experts said that they can’t be certain, based on the limited data there is on SARS-CoV-2 (the germ which causes COVID-19 and shouldn’t be confused with the Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus). Donald Burke, professor of health science and policy, said he wasn’t sure, but as ... (03/18/2020)

Boggs helps Reddit‘s coronavirus community become a destination 

Boggs helps Reddit‘s coronavirus community become a destination

NBC NEWS – In January when Emerson Boggs (IDM PhD candidate) began moderating a small Reddit community dedicated to a new coronavirus in China, she had no idea that two months later the message board would grow to more than 1.2 million members. Daily Boggs and her colleagues process thousands of co... (03/18/2020)

Burke on what we can learn about coronavirus from National Geographic author David Quammen’s brilliant book ‘Spillover’ 

Burke on what we can learn about coronavirus from National Geographic author David Quammen’s brilliant book ‘Spillover’

THE HILL - Epidemiologist Donald Burke emphasized the need to improve the scientific basis to improve readiness: the understanding of which virus groups to watch, the field capabilities to detect spillovers in remote places before they become regional outbreaks, the organizational capacities to con... (03/20/2020)

Van Panhuis turns rapid Coronavirus data sharing into sustainable research infrastructure 

Van Panhuis turns rapid Coronavirus data sharing into sustainable research infrastructure

Many of the 300 MIDAS members are conducting modeling research on COVID-19 and are contributing to an extraordinary international collection of data and information regarding the outbreak. “It’s exciting and gratifying to be able to do something useful to help with this pandemic,” said EPI's Wilber... (03/23/2020)

Rinaldo helps with coronavirus test development and launch 

Rinaldo helps with coronavirus test development and launch

UPMC – A new test for COVID-19 was created by a virology team including Charles Rinaldo, chair and professor of infectious diseases and microbiology and director of the UPMC Clinical Virology Laboratory. The health system plans to increase lab capacity and open testing sites around the state. The t... (03/14/2020)

Burke on how contagious the new coronavirus is compared to flu and SARS 

Burke on how contagious the new coronavirus is compared to flu and SARS

NEWSWEEK - Donald Burke, professor of health science and policy, said he was concerned that the reproduction number (RO) may be higher than originally estimated. The U.S. case count has been increasing exponentially. If the time between successive cases in the chain of transmission is four days, th... (03/20/2020)
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