💉 Combating coronaviruses the world hasn’t seen | Morning Newsletter
And building homes like LEGOs.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
More summer weather is headed our way with a high of 82.
President Joe Biden’s comments on 60 Minutes on Sunday night declaring that the COVID pandemic is over immediately raised the question: Is it?
Well, local experts say they agree with Biden because the definition of the pandemic depends on how society reacts as well as the toll itself. Translation: People aren’t as willing to do much about the danger. Still, there are positive signs that the virus is resulting in less severe outcomes.
Our lead story tackles how scientists in a University of Pennsylvania lab are racing to develop a vaccine to combat coronaviruses we don’t even know about yet.
If you see this 🔑 in today’s newsletter, that means we’re highlighting our exclusive journalism. You need to be a subscriber to read these stories.
— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
The University of Pennsylvania lab of Drew Weissman is racing to make a pan-coronavirus vaccine that would protect the world against multiple coronaviruses, including those the world hasn’t seen yet.
The scope: More than a dozen teams of scientists worldwide are trying to stay ahead of the next coronavirus by developing what are known as pan-coronavirus vaccines. Weissman is involved with four of them.
Some are designed to guard against all future variants of the COVID virus, as well as the older SARS and MERS.
Others might also protect against less closely related coronaviruses that so far have been found only in bats.
Some might even work against viruses that cause the common cold.
The hope: Because coronavirus spikes can change shape and retain the ability to penetrate a cell (as exemplified in the delta and omicron variants), the next-generation vaccine would teach the immune system to recognize shared proteins among multiple COVID variants and types of coronaviruses. This would potentially prepare it to ward off a variety of threats.
Continue reading Tom Avril’s reporting to learn more about the road ahead for these potential vaccines.
What you should know today
Local Puerto Rican and Dominican communities in Philadelphia are organizing to support their islands’ recovery from Hurricane Fiona.
Mehmet Oz, Republican U.S. Senate candidate from Pennsylvania, talked to drug users in Kensington and community activists in Germantown about crime as he campaigned in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner will provide some records to the state House committee investigating him to try to impeach him.
In a letter released by Josh Shapiro’s campaign, 60 veterans blast Doug Mastriano’s Confederate uniform photo as “shameful.”
Local coronavirus numbers: Here’s your daily look at the latest COVID-19 data.
More of Philadelphia’s apartments are being built in a factory and put together later like Legos 🔑
Modular construction, a method in which homes are built in factories and then assembled on site, is becoming more popular.
Industry watchers say its appeal will only grow as construction costs climb and the workforce dwindles, and as developers use this method to save time.
How it works: When modules leave a factory, they are mostly complete with finishes, appliances, wiring, and plumbing.
When pieces get to a site, the project gets put together (like a large Lego set).
General contractors finish work on site that can’t be done in a factory such as connecting wires.
The perk: Projects made this way can be constructed in half the time, and demand for apartments in the Philly region is exceeding the supply.
However, there are several reasons why it represents only a sliver of the total construction industry — between 5% and 10%.
Reporter Michaelle Bond shares the potential future and challenges of more modular construction in the region.
Fed-up residents are pushing for new speed controls to reduce near-daily crashes on and near Lincoln Drive, which has hairpin curves and a 25-mph speed limit, and passes through dense neighborhoods.
They’ve caught the attention of City Council, state lawmakers, and PennDot, but changes to the roads and increased traffic enforcement can take years.
In the meantime, neighbors are doing what they can. Their methods include buying several hundred-pound boulders for the perimeter of their properties and placing yellow flags to help pedestrians. (Take one from a container, cross the street, survive, and put it in a container on the other side for the next person.)
Transportation reporter Thomas Fitzgerald details what can be done as aggressive driving and increasing numbers of deaths continue.
What we’re ...
⚖️ Reading: A Spotlight PA story about how Pennsylvania’s vague protections for marijuana patients often lead to court battles between fired workers and frustrated employers.
đź“· Viewing: This gallery showcasing various residents in the region playing sports that immigrants brought to this country.
💠Wondering: What’s next for Adnad Syed — whose case was chronicled in Serial — after his conviction was tossed.
🧩 Unscramble the Anagram 🧩
Hint: A Philly creamery
DISARRAY RETYPED
Think you know? Send your guess our way at morningnewsletter@inquirer.com. We’ll give a shout-out to a reader at random who answers correctly. Today’s shout-out goes to Richard Brasch, who correctly guessed Nightmare Before Tinsel as Monday’s answer.
Photo of the Day
And that’s your Tuesday. I’m off to my morning jog. 👟