News Room

One year ago, no one had ever heard of COVID-19. That’s because, technically, it didn’t exist. Even as reports of a mystery illness started to pop up in China on New Year’s Eve, it would be days before scientists figured out a new coronavirus was the cause; weeks before they gave the disease its name; and months before they declared COVID-19 a pandemic, putting the whole world on high alert. Since then, people across the globe have poured their energy into figuring out how the novel coronavirus works — and how to stop it. Here, Wisconsin experts discuss what COVID-19 science has taught us in its first year, and what’s ahead as we turn the corner into 2021.

Dozens of hospitals in metro Atlanta remain overcrowded as January begins, some with zero beds available for patients. Georgia’s database shows that as of Monday, 28.1% of hospitalizations in the state were COVID-related. Further, Georgia's ICU beds were at 88.6 percent capacity and inpatient beds were at 83.5 percent capacity as January begins. In Fulton County, Wellstar AMC South, Wellstar AMC North, and Grady Health System are in severe capacity. Medical Experts say it’s not just due to Covid-19.

Washington state will rely on an honor system to determine eligibility for COVID-19 vaccinations, so those administering vaccines do not have to police who qualifies. The state plans to launch an online questionnaire — called PhaseFinder — soon where people can determine their own eligibility for vaccination. When more vaccination sites are available, members of the public could present screenshots of their questionnaire results at vaccination sites, said Mary Huynh, a deputy director at the state Department of Health. The state also plans to provide a template letter for employers to vouch for workers’ eligibility.

It is completely normal for people to develop side effects after immunization. In medical jargon, these side effects are called adverse events. These can be 'minor', 'severe', or 'serious', with only the last category requiring hospitalization. In fact, vaccination drives that are underway the UK and the US have also reported adverse events, especially in people with allergies, says the writer of this article. None were 'serious'.

What are the logistical challenges of distributing different types of COVID-19 vaccines to millions of people, from urban centers to sparsely populated rural counties? Julie Swann has answers. Swann, a systems engineer with expertise in vaccine distribution whose work focuses on making health care and supply chains more efficient, effective, and equitable, is the department head and professor of the industrial and systems engineering department of at North Carolina State University.