The Conversation

Could chloroquine treat coronavirus? 5 questions answered about a promising, problematic and unproven use for an antimalarial drug

Written by Katherine Seley-Radtke, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and President-Elect of the International Society for Antiviral Research, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

An employee in Nantong, China, checks the production of chloroquine phosphate, an old drug for the treatment of malaria. Feature China/Barcroft Media via Getty Images

An Arizona man died, and his wife was hospitalized, after taking a form of chloroquine, which President Trump has touted as an effective treatment for COVID-19. The couple decided to...

Tribal leaders face great need and don't have enough resources to respond to the coronavirus pandemic

Written by Kirsten Carlson, Associate Professor of Law and Adjunct Associate Professor of Political Science, Wayne State University

Leaders of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska voted to postpone the 85th Annual Tribal Assembly because of the pandemic. Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska

The coronavirus is hitting American Indians and Alaska Natives hard. Tribal citizens are dying, Indian nations have closed casinos to protect the public, and powwows and...

Who cares for those most vulnerable to COVID-19? 4 questions about home care aides answered

Written by Christian Weller, Professor of Public Policy and Public Affairs, University of Massachusetts Boston

Most home care aides are single women.Terry Vine/Shutterstock.com

Editor’s note: The elderly and those recovering from surgeries are among the most vulnerable to becoming seriously ill as a result of COVID-19. An army of 3.5 million home care aides are responsible for taking care of them and others who need help, whether in homes or assisted...

Coronavirus fears over farmers markets could hit new growers hard – just when Americans need them most

Written by Tamara J. Benjamin, Assistant Program Leader, Diversified Farming and Food Systems, Purdue University

Shoppers in Brooklyn continue to buy produce at a farmers market.Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The familiar sight of weekend shoppers brushing shoulders at farmers markets across the U.S. is under threat from the coronavirus and fears of its spread.

In Seattle, farmers markets have been suspended altogether. In New York state – the epicenter of...

Why people need rituals, especially in times of uncertainty

Written by Dimitris Xygalatas, Assistant Professor in Anthropology, University of Connecticut

People wear a protective mask as they attend a Hindu ritual, known as Melasti, in Bali, Indonesia, on March 22.Agoes Rudianto/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Responding to the coronavirus pandemic, most American universities have suspended all campus activities. Like millions of people all around the world, the lives of students all over the U.S. has...

In battling the coronavirus, will 'optimistic bias' be our undoing?

Written by Marie Helweg-Larsen, Professor of Psychology, the Glenn E. & Mary Line Todd Chair in the Social Sciences, Dickinson College

Unless danger is flashing before us, we view risks through rose-colored glasses.slavemotion/iStock via Getty Images

As the coronavirus has fanned across the globe, some people have been more complacent about the risk of contracting the virus than others.

On March 21, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was apoplectic after photographs emerged of New Yorkers...

Calling COVID-19 a 'Chinese virus' is wrong and dangerous – the pandemic is global

Written by Mari Webel, Assistant Professor of History, University of Pittsburgh

U.S. officials risk public health by equating COVID-19 with places far from home.AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

The COVID-19 pandemic has spread to almost every country on Earth. And yet, several American officials refer to it as the “Wuhan virus” or even the “Chinese virus.”

U.S.-Chinese antagonism in this vein is not new. But,...

Medical supply chains are fragile in the best of times and COVID-19 will test their strength

Written by Emily Tucker, Ph.D. Candidate in Industrial and Operations Engineering, University of Michigan

The pipeline of pharmaceuticals is easily disrupted.Gumpanat/iStock via Getty Images Plus

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought medical supply chains into the spotlight. There has been a national shortage of testing kits, and at least one drug is already unavailable because of the outbreak, though it hasn’t been publicly named.

As operations enginee...

I'm a family doctor fighting against fear and struggling with distancing while trying to keep my patients healthy

Written by Tammy Chang, Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, University of Michigan

Virtual medical care can be effective and eliminate unnecessary exposure to the coronavirus.eldar nurkovic/Shutterstock.com

The Conversation is running a series of dispatches from clinicians and researchers operating on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic.

I am sitting at my kitchen table. To my right is my daughter, 9; to my left, my son,...

The deadly polio epidemic and why it matters for coronavirus

Written by Carl Kurlander, Senior Lecturer, University of Pittsburgh

An emergency polio ward in Boston in 1955 equipped with iron lungs. These pressurized respirators acted as breathing muscles for polio victims, often children, who were paralyzed.www.apimages.com

The fear and uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic may feel new to many of us. But it is strangely familiar to those who lived through the...