The local newspaper interviews UTMB’s Jim Le Duc for a report on research efforts undertaken in the Galveston National Laboratory on SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Starting today UTMB will be using tents to check patients in arriving at emergency rooms, as part of a process to separate people who are showing serious signs of COVID-19 infection from people who are coming in for other medical concerns. “One of our primary objectives is to keep all of our patients that come to UTMB safe,” said Chad Connally.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, passengers stuck on cruise ships with the illness have been the focus of most news reports. In this opinion piece from UTMB’s Shannon Guillot-Wright and a colleague, they call for more action on the part of the cruise ship companies to help their employees with COVID-19.

In this guest column, UTMB’s John Prochaska providers readers with tips on preparing for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Efforts at UTMB to prepare for and address expected demands created by COVID-19 were the subject of a local guest column by Dr. Ben Raimer, UTMB president ad interim. Raimer reminds readers that COVID-19 will pose challenges that prior disasters have not.

A brief look at the history of yellow fever outbreaks in Galveston from 1668 to 1893. The story references the work of Ashbel Smith.

Scientist are working to answer the question if people who survive the coronavirus infection become immune to the virus. They believe the answer is a qualified yes. UTMB’s Vineet Menachery said that those infected with the new coronavirus may have immunity lasting at least one to two years, but beyond that, they cannot predict.

It is not uncommon for viruses to mutate and develop resistance to drugs and vaccines but research suggests that is not happening with the novel coronavirus. “The good news is that because it’s not changing appreciably, we could reasonably argue that vaccines would work against most of the strains out there,” said UTMB’s Vineet Menachery. Yahoo! News also distributed this story.

A local report on the pressure cuff emergency ventilator developed by UTMB’s Chris Zahner and Aisen Chacin.

Health care professionals fighting COVID-19 say there is a shortage nationally of ventilators. Now UTMB’s Chris Zahner and Aisen Chacin have developed a pressure cuff emergency ventilator using common hospital supplies.