Several members of the group and our collaborators published an article in NatureMedicine where we modeled shield immunity where Covid-19 recovered individuals (with antibodies against Covid-19) could be deployed as focal points for safer interactions with sensitive populations. A shield immunity dashboard is in progress and will be forthcoming in January 2021.
Prof. Weitz publishes opinion piece in the Atlanta Journal Constitution urging Georgia leaders to reconsider opening the state
Prof. Weitz’s recently published opinion piece in the Atlanta Journal Constitution cites concerns that lifting restrictions in Georgia too soon could increase the severity of Covid-19 in the state.
Last Monday, April 20, Gov. Brian Kemp announced the limited reopening of sectors of Georgia’s economy, effective April 24. The rationale includes the fact that documented cases of COVID-19 appear to have flattened, leading people to wonder: has the danger passed? The answer is simple: no.
Prof. Weitz writes about cancelling large events due to Covid-19 in the Atlanta Journal Constitution
Prof. Weitz – along with Richard E. Lenski, Lauren A. Meyers, and Johnathan Dushoff – wrote an opinion piece in the Atlanta Journal Constitution about the painful but practical decisions that will have to be made to mitigate Covid-19 spread. Citing the NCAA’s decision to restrict the number of fans allowed in upcoming March Madness games as prudent, the professors predict more such decisions will need to be made in the future.
It comes down to simple probability.
Even if only a few individuals have COVID-19, the collective chance that one (or more) infected people show up at a large gathering can rapidly approach 100%.
Congratulations on your publication, David and Ashley
David Demory and Ashley Coenen published an article in mSystems “Linking Light-Dependent Life History Traits with Population Dynamics for Prochlorococcus and Cyanophage”.
Welcome to the group, Dr. Lucia-Sanz
Dr. Lucia-Sanz joined the Weitz group in March 2020 from Dr. Manrubia’s group in Spain. They hold a PhD on Virus Evolution. Their principal research interests focus on how biological systems behave in a quantitative and qualitative way, how we can describe them from the ground level, and into which extent a model captures the phenomenology observed in nature. They spearheaded an initiative to chat about science safely during the Covid-19 pandemic.