UW researchers respond to novel coronavirus (COVID-19)

COVID-19 experts for reporters

Here are the most recent stories of UW experts commenting on the novel coronavirus epidemic

In addition to UW researchers from a variety of disciplines offering their expertise to journalists covering the novel coronavirus, UW Medicine researchers are leading the way in the detection and prevention of COVID-19 and other coronaviruses. In fact, our researchers have sequenced COVID-19’s genome, identified the architecture and mechanisms of COVID-19, created a new laboratory test to expedite diagnostics and are crowd-sourcing a cure, among other efforts.

This page is updated every week day. For more information on the coronavirus, visit uw.edu/coronavirus. 

Some of the stories below may require a third-party subscription. 

• New study shows more than 80,000 deaths in the US | KUOW1 hour ago
  A new study from the UW shows COVID-19 could cause more than 80,000 deaths in the U.S. over the next four months even with social distancing in measures in place. Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the UW Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, is quoted.
• New trial starts on potential prevention for COVID-19 | KIRO 72 hours ago
  Local researchers are studying a drug touted by President Trump for potential COVID-19 treatment. Ruanne Barnabas, associate professor of global health at the UW, is interviewed.
• Emissions have reduced amid COVID-19 | KIRO 72 hours ago
  The Pacific Northwest is seeing reduced carbon emissions thanks to COVID-19, but experts say we shouldn't expect it to last after the pandemic is over. Amy Snover, director of the UW Climate Impacts Group, is interviewed.
• UW researchers looking at treatment for COVID-19 | Q132 hours ago
  UW researchers are looking all options for possible COVID-19 treatment. Dr. Helen Chu, assistant professor of medicine at the UW, is interviewed.
• Seattle researchers to study malaria drug treatment of coronavirus | KUOW5 hours ago
  A decades-old malaria drug - that has recently prompted debate and confusion - will be tested in Seattle and New York to see if it could treat coronavirus patients as part of a UW Medicine study. Dr. Ruanne Barnabas, associate professor of global health and of medicine at the UW,
• UW Medicine researchers race to find coronavirus treatments | MyNorthwest6 hours ago
  Seattle has some of the best infectious disease researchers in the country at UW Medicine, and they are grinding on finding ways to fight coronavirus. Dr. Helen Chu, assistant professor of medicine at the UW, and Dr. Ruanne Barnabas, associate professor of global health and of medicine at the UW, are quoted.
• Experts try to understand rural spike in positive COVID-19 tests | KOMO6 hours ago
  Governor Jay Inslee on Monday raised questions about some alarming new COVID-19 test results coming out of a handful of rural counties. Dr. Keith Jerome, professor of laboratory medicine at the UW, is quoted.
• Should you wear a mask — here's what a UW epidemiologist says | KOMO6 hours ago
  Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say the only people who need to wear masks are people who are sick or in the medical field. Dr. Jeffrey Duchin, professor of medicine at the UW, sees potential in more people wearing masks. He is quoted.
• Can the OxVent ventilator help slow the coronavirus death rate? | CBS News6 hours ago
  Two hospitals in England are testing a ventilator that just two weeks ago hadn't even been sketched on a piece of paper. The machine is composed of a few dozen widely-available parts and is unique in its simplicity. Per Reinhall, professor of mechanical engineering at the UW, is quoted.
• Lizzo buys lunch for UW Medical Center staff and other hospitals in midst of coronavirus pandemic | The Seattle Times6 hours ago
  The world could use more fun surprises right now. The staff at UW Medical Center’s Montlake emergency room received one Monday courtesy of Lizzo, one the hottest stars in pop music.
• Researcher makes her pitch for new therapies in coronavirus doubleheader | GeekWire6 hours ago
  Dr. Helen Chu, assistant professor of medicine at the UW, is involved in not just one, but two studies that are focusing on potential therapies to nip COVID-19 in the bud. She is quoted.
• This game helps scientists design COVID drugs — they want you to play | MSN6 hours ago
  If you like solving puzzles, scientists want your help to start designing potential drugs to combat the coronavirus using a game you can play on your computer. The UW Institute for Protein Design and David Baker, the institute's director, are mentioned.
• Coronavirus germs can travel up to 27 feet, MIT researcher says | USA Today6 hours ago
  The novel coronavirus has prompted social distancing measures around the world. One MIT researcher believes what's being done isn't enough. Dr. Paul Pottinger, associate professor of medicine at the UW, is quoted.
• Opinion: What India needs to fight the virus | The New York Times6 hours ago
  "On Tuesday evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered 1.3 billion Indians to stay inside their homes for 21 days in an unprecedented bid to stem the spread of the coronavirus in the country," writes Ramanan Laxminarayan, affiliate professor of global health at the UW.
• Medical students feel sidelined in fight against COVID-19: ‘We want to help’ | Crosscut7 hours ago
  Experts are predicting an imminent shortage of health care workers, but med schools worry about the lack of protective gear and testing. Lily Jeong, a medical student at the UW, and Dr. Suzanne Allen, vice dean for academic, rural and regional affairs at the UW School of Medicine, are quoted.
• Steve Martin's banjo, and more music across coronavirus isolation, show how the arts connect us | The Conversation7 hours ago
  Many musicians are reaching out from isolation on balconies, in condos or the outdoors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ellen Dissanayake, affiliate professor of music at the UW, is quoted.
• Coronavirus is posing special challenges for those trained to help the dying and their families | The Seattle Times7 hours ago
  Doctors and social workers trained to help the dying are facing special challenges ministering to the isolated victims of COVID-19 in a profession where that last human touch and contact is vital. Dr. Fred Buckner, professor of medicine at the UW, is quoted.
• Opinion: Is it safe to cuddle with my kids during the coronavirus pandemic? | The Washington Post7 hours ago
  "I was working from my home office Thursday morning, watching a recent clip of coronavirus oracle Anthony S. Fauci, when the crying roared from the downstairs living room," writes Ian Shapira. Dr. Danielle Zerr, professor of pediatrics at the UW, is quoted.
• Maker Mask launches in Seattle using 3D-printing technology to produce protective gear | GeekWire7 hours ago
  A technology veteran and a 3D-printing “savant” have teamed with other members of industry, health care and government to launch Maker Mask, a Seattle nonprofit creating medically endorsed, reusable protective masks using everyday 3D printers. Dr. Xuan Qin, associate professor of laboratory medicine, is quoted.
• How to grocery shop safely during the coronavirus pandemic | Vox7 hours ago
  In our collective attempt to flatten the curve, grocery shopping has become a minefield. To help us navigate this unsettling new world of grocery shopping, Vox turned to the experts. Anne-Marie Gloster, lecturer of epidemiology at the UW, is quoted.
• Coronavirus crisis forces hard decisions for labs with animals | Nature7 hours ago
  As universities scale back operations and scientists observe stay-at-home orders, many are struggling to protect their research and the animals that power it. Sally Thompson-Iritani, interim director of the Washington National Primate Center at the UW, is quoted. Thea Brabb, professor of comparative medicine at the UW, is mentioned.
• University of Washington begins study of antimalarial drug for COVID-19 | GeekWire8 hours ago
  UW researchers are among the leaders of a newly announced clinical trial investigating whether hydroxychloroquine, a drug that’s commonly used to counter malaria and autoimmune disease, can prevent COVID-19. Dr. Ruanne Barnabas, associate professor of global health and of medicine at the UW, is quoted.
• Why I am volunteering to get the coronavirus vaccine | MIT Technology Review8 hours ago
  MIT Technology Review spoke to Ian Haydon, a public information specialist for the UW Institute for Protein Design, who will soon be one of 45 people to get an experimental COVID-19 vaccine in Seattle.
• White House turns to statistical models for virus forecast | AP8 hours ago
  Like forecasters tracking a megastorm, White House officials are relying on statistical models to help predict the impact of the coronavirus outbreak and try to protect as many people as possible. Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the UW Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, is quoted.
• Hospitalizations for novel coronavirus-like illness declined last week in Washington, offering a glimmer of hope | The Seattle Times8 hours ago
  Hospitalizations for patients with symptoms of COVID-19-like illnesses in Washington declined last week by more than 20%, a hopeful sign for the region and a nation gripped by the coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Douglas Wood, professor of surgery at the UW, is quoted.
• What we know — and don’t know — about possible coronavirus treatments promoted by Trump | ProPublica8 hours ago
  There isn’t enough evidence that decades-old anti-malarial drugs work for the treatment or prevention of coronavirus, but here’s what we do know so far. A UW Medicine protocol is mentioned.
• GOP Governors' lag in social distancing policies threatens public health | HuffPost9 hours ago
  A new UW study has found that states with GOP governors or a majority-Republican electorate have lagged behind their Democratic counterparts in instituting social distancing policies amid the coronavirus pandemic.
• States with Republican governors delayed action on social distancing measures, study finds | Newsweek9 hours ago
  Republican governors and states with more Donald Trump voters were slower to take up social distancing policies amid the coronavirus outbreak, according to a new study. Christopher Adolph, associate professor of political science at the UW, is quoted.
• Opinion: AI can help scientists find a COVID-19 vaccine | WIRED24 hours ago
  "AI has gotten something of a bad rap in recent years, but the COVID-19 pandemic illustrates how AI can do a world of good in the race to find a vaccine," writes Oren Etzioni, professor of computer science and engineering at the UW, and Nicole DiCario.
• UW doctor offers answers about COVID-19 | Seattle Weekly1 day ago
  Should I get a test for COVID-19? Who can come down with COVID-19? There are still a lot of lingering questions about the virus that causes COVID-19. Dr. Peter McGough, medical director for UW Neighborhood Clinics, answers questions.
• Hospital chaplains bring hope and solace to COVID-19 patients and staff | NPR1 day ago
  NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with Mike Yonkers, a chaplain at University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. He's counseling patients with COVID-19, their families and hospital staff.
• With surgeries delayed, patients wait with anxiety — some in pain — as hospitals make way for coronavirus cases | The Seattle Times1 day ago
  Christine Rayburn is one of many Americans whose surgical procedures, tests and examinations have been canceled as part of the broader response to the rapidly unfolding COVID-19 crisis. Dr. Douglas Wood, professor of surgery at the UW, is quoted.
• Seattle teenagers debut SMS text alert service for COVID-19 stats, set sights on screening tool | GeekWire1 day ago
  Two University of Washington students, Nikolas Ioannou and Sage Khanuja, just released a SMS COVID-19 tracker and have plans for a coronavirus screening tool.
• Coming out of retirement during coronavirus pandemic, a Seattle nurse finds purpose | The Seattle Times1 day ago
  Carolyn Grant, 63, a retired registered nurse, was sitting comfortably in her favorite chair beside the fireplace when her phone buzzed at 2 p.m. on March 11 with a fresh text message: Could she come back to work? UW Medical Center was searching for recently retired employees to bolster its ranks as the outbreak of coronavirus stretched hospital staff thin, and Grant’s former boss was asking her to step back into the saddle and help run the medical system’s COVID-19 testing program.
• One Seattle party, 8 coronavirus cases: An anatomy of an outbreak | Crosscut1 day ago
  Testing and forensic tracing of COVID-19 could have slowed the pandemic in its earliest days. But by the time anyone noticed, it was too late. Janet Baseman, professor of epidemiology at the UW, Dr. Wesley Van Voorhis, professor of medicine at the UW, are quoted.
• Tribes expect little help in fight to protect elders from coronavirus | The Columbian1 day ago
  When a resident of the Tulalip Tribe in Western Washington tested positive for coronavirus, Chairwoman Teri Gobin quickly let her people know the tribe’s priority in limiting the spread. Robert Anderson, professor of law at the UW, is quoted.
• Privacy rights may become next victim of killer pandemic | AFP1 day ago
  Digital surveillance and smartphone technology may prove helpful in containing the coronavirus pandemic — but some activists fear this could mean lasting harm to privacy and digital rights. Ryan Calo, associate professor of law at the UW, is quoted. [This AFP story appeared in several outlets]
• The mathematics of predicting the course of the coronavirus | WIRED1 day ago
  Epidemiologists are using complex models to help policymakers get ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the leap from equations to decisions is a long one. Dr. Christopher Murray, director of UW's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, and Lisa Brandenburg, president of UW Medicine hospitals and clinics, are quoted.
• How Trump decided to extend social distancing guidelines | NPR1 day ago
  Two weeks ago, President Trump entered the White House briefing room and announced an aggressive plan to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Work by the UW's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation is referenced.
• Experts race to offer rules for deciding who lives and who dies | Undark1 day ago
  As Covid-19 spreads and health shortages loom, doctors will face grim choices. Experts are mulling guidance to help. Dr. Mark Tonelli, professor of medicine at the UW, is quoted.
• Domestic violence victims, stuck at home, are at risk during coronavirus pandemic | CNN1 day ago
  Home is the safest place to be while a pandemic rages outside. Health officials have said as much for weeks now. But for some, home is not a haven from violence and abuse. Val Kalei Kanuha, senior lecturer of social work at the UW, is quoted.
• Coronavirus forecast: Deaths could peak in Washington state by mid-April | KING 51 day ago
  As many as 27 people could die per day in Washington state by mid-April, according to researchers with the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the UW, is quoted.
• Opinion: 'Lab workers are heroes' — what it's like to be on front lines of coronavirus testing | Today1 day ago
  "I felt called. I wanted to come up and help. I knew the assistant director of UW Virology and I knew he and a lot of people in the lab weren’t sleeping as they tried to boot up and get tests out," writes Chris Nelson, who works in virology at the UW.
• Amid coronavirus isolation, the health threat of loneliness looms | Stat News1 day ago
  Dan Blazer agrees with the public health consensus — the best thing you can do for yourself and your community during the COVID-19 pandemic is to isolate yourself. But for some individuals, the side effects of doing so “could be disastrous,” Blazer said. Jonathan Kanter, research associate professor of psychology at the UW, is quoted.
• Opinion: Seattle’s work-from-home tech challenge beyond coronavirus | The Seattle Times1 day ago
  "As remote work has a breakout moment during the pandemic, Seattle and Washington state should look at the risks and opportunities this presents," writes Brier Dudley. Ed Lazowska, professor of computer science and engineering at the UW, is mentioned.
• Being an ICE detainee amid the coronavirus crisis | The Atlantic1 day ago
  Karlena Dawson is at high risk of complications from COVID-19. Where she lives makes her even more vulnerable: a Seattle immigrant-detention center. Dr. Marc Stern, affiliate assistant professor of health services at the UW, is mentioned.
• Opinion: ‘Party of One’ — what’s on your coronavirus playlist? | The Seattle Times1 day ago
  "[Rita Wilson's playlist] inspired me to try and crowd source a coronavirus playlist with my social-media friends in the hope that it might make a nice break from the daily news cycle as well as a test of the musical chops of my Facebook network, write Randy Hodgins, vice president for external affairs at the UW.
• Do masks protect against coronavirus? | Quartz1 day ago
  Should you wear a mask to stop the coronavirus? Depending on where you live, the act risks social censure, accusations of selfishness, and perhaps the infection itself. No one wants to say they don’t know. Dr. Jared Baeten, professor of global health, medicine and epidemiology at the UW, is quoted.
• A heart attack — no, it was the coronavirus | The New York Times1 day ago
  Cardiologists are seeing infected patients whose worst symptoms are not respiratory, but cardiac. Dr. April Stempien-Otero, associate professor of the medicine at the UW, is quoted.
• Washington’s health care capacity crunch could come as soon as next week | KNKX1 day ago
  Hospitals in Washington state could exceed their intensive care bed capacity as early as next week, according to projections from a Seattle-based research center. Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the UW Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, is quoted.
• Homeless families lose key support as schools close | Al Jazeera1 day ago
  In the age of coronavirus, health experts advise closing schools, but for unstably housed families, that brings difficult choices, increased risk. Gregg Colburn, assistant professor of real estate at the UW, is quoted.
• Seattle hospitals plan for the unthinkable amid the coronavirus outbreak | US News1 day ago
  As the surge in infections builds, medical workers in what has been coronavirus' American epicenter are rushing to meet it while preparing to make life-and-death choices that would have been unthinkable just weeks ago. Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the UW Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, is quoted.
• Design an antiviral for coronavirus from your living room and it could be manufactured in America | IFLScience1 day ago
  An online gaming website that challenges players to “solve problems for science” has launched a new puzzle that dares citizen scientists to try and design an antiviral protein that could bind with the coronavirus. The UW's Institute for Protein Design is mentioned.
• Drugs touted by Trump, blood from recovered patients: Seattle scientists seek coronavirus cures | The Seattle Times1 day ago
  Researchers around the globe and in Seattle are investigating dozens of other promising ideas, from repurposing old drugs to designing new ones. And they’re doing it at unprecedented speeds. Dr. Ruanne Barnabas, associate professor of global health and of medicine at the UW; Dr. Helen Chu, assistant professor of medicine at the UW; Stephen Polyak, research professor of laboratory medicine at the UW; and Marion Pepper, associate professor of immunology at the UW are quoted.
• Pacific Northwest may see temporary drop in emissions due to social distancing | KING51 day ago
  Experts say with fewer cars on the road, Washington state will likely see a drop in overall emissions due to the stay-at-home order and social distancing. Amy Snover, director of the Climate Impacts Group at the UW, is quoted.
• Opinion: An actual virus sobers the goofy age of ‘going viral’ | The New York Times1 day ago
  "Our public language long ago depleted its resources and then debased itself. We must be the first and only civilization to use a word, “viral” — a term that denotes death and destruction — to signify a quintessentially American form of success," write Lee Siegel. Kate Starbird, associate professor of human centered design and engineering at the UW, is quoted.
• Medical Expert Who Corrects Trump Is Now a Target of the Far Right - The New York Times1 day ago
  Dr. Anthony Fauci, the administration’s most outspoken advocate of emergency virus measures, faces a torrent of false claims that he is mobilizing to undermine the president. Carl Bergstrom, a professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.
• Universities revamp science labs for coronavirus testing | NPR1 day ago
  Academic science labs around the U.S. are rapidly gearing up to run coronavirus tests for patients in need. They're drawing resources from across campus: technology, chemicals and a formidable workforce — graduate students. Peter Ch'en, a student in biochemistry at the UW, is quoted.
• Study public susceptible to COVID 19 misinformation | Public News Service1 day ago
  A new UW study shows that it's getting harder to tell what's real - and what isn't - on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Christine Geeng, a graduate student in computer science at the UW, is quoted.
• Retired health care workers asked to volunteer on front lines | MSNBC4 days ago
  Dr. Ann Marie Kimball, professor emeritus of epidemiology at the UW, is interviewed by MSNBC, about PPE shortages across the country and how that endangers health care workers and volunteers.
• Coronavirus is making it even harder for Americans to use public space | Curbed4 days ago
  Closed parks have made it harder to access public space. But for some neighborhoods, it was never easy. Thaisa Way, a professor of landscape architecture at the UW, is quoted.
• Deaths from coronavirus in US could top 80,000 by July, analysis finds | Newsweek4 days ago
  The coronavirus death toll in the United States could hit 80,000 by July, according to a forecast analysis by The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, an independent global health research center at the University of Washington. Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the UW Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, is quoted.
• Coronavirus crisis has social media 'ripe for spread of misinformation' | MyNorthwest4 days ago
  The spread of coronavirus has occurred alongside a similarly viral spread of misinformation across all of social media. Kate Starbird, associate professor of human centered design and engineering at the UW, is quoted.
• CenturyLink Field could be turned into a temporary hospital | KIRO 74 days ago
  CenturyLink Field could be used as a field hospital for COVID-19 patients. Dr. Ali Mokdad, professor of health metrics sciences at the UW's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, is interviewed.
• UW model says social distancing is starting to work — but still projects 1,400 coronavirus deaths in the state | The Seattle Times4 days ago
  A new analysis from the UW projects that even with strict social distancing from coast to coast, more than 81,000 people in the U.S. — and more than 1,400 in Washington state — could die from COVID-19 by the first of July. Dr. Christopher Murray, director of UW's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, and Lisa Brandenburg, president of UW Medicine hospitals and clinics, are quoted.
• Coronavirus testing troubles persist as patients are turned away, even as lab capacity in Seattle expands | The Seattle Times4 days ago
  Even as Washington’s coronavirus testing capacity continues to ramp up, complaints persist that it’s a  struggle to get tested. Dr. Alex Greninger, assistant professor of laboratory medicine at the UW, is quoted.
• Disease modelers face politicization of coronavirus epidemiology | The Washington Post4 days ago
  A new model released Thursday by the University of Washington is one of the first to forecast a national peak. It projects that the peak in daily U.S. deaths will arrive in mid-April, and the tail end of that curve, subsiding below 10 daily deaths, will arrive by the first week of June.
• Isolation to stop the spread of coronavirus makes sense — but why is it still so hard to stay inside? | The Boston Globe4 days ago
  As governments across the world urged, advised, and eventually ordered people to stay home and away from others to avoid transmitting the coronavirus, many people did stay inside. But enough didn’t, and though they probably didn’t lick whatever they wanted, they certainly didn’t practice social distancing. Jonathan Kanter, research associate professor of psychology at the UW, is quoted.
• Handshake shouldn't survive this pandemic, doctors say | USA Today4 days ago
  One normal social convention might not come back: shaking hands. Dr. Paul Pottinger, associate professor of medicine at the UW, is quoted.
• How philanthropists are helping during the crisis | The New York Times4 days ago
  The coronavirus pandemic is a test of how philanthropists can use their wealth to fill an enormous gap in revenue for nonprofit groups. The UW is mentioned.

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