2021, Number 1
The University of Minnesota and the Pandemic
Leon GR
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Language: English
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Dear Editor:The University of Minnesota and universities across the world have had to respond and adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on academic and clinical instruction. Since mid-March 2020, all undergraduate and graduate classes at the University of Minnesota have been held online; the Medical School adopted a hybrid system to allow for some on-site clinical teaching. Medical students continue to be highly involved in patient care at the Community-University Health Care Center that serves low income individuals and families.1 They also are conducting a greater number of telemedicine visits, consistent with the major increase in the use of telemedicine (virtual visits) for patient care in the United States.
There are many pandemic-related activities in process across the entire university. The University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy is in the national forefront, providing leadership in disseminating accurate information and making recommendations to mitigate the pandemic.3 The university’s Institute for Engineering in Medicine is studying how the coronavirus travels indoors; faculty and students from the Medical School and other university institutes have used innovative technologies to develop low-cost mechanical ventilators and protective equipment for health care workers.4 Multi-center clinical trials in which the Medical School is involved include evaluation of the high blood pressure medication losartan to reduce infection, and clinical studies to evaluate other therapeutic agents in hospitalized patients.5 In addition, the Medical School is a collaborator on a new multi-center clinical trial evaluating mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of COVID-19 and lung failure. A completed multi-center study showed that hydroxychloroquine had no benefit over placebo in preventing COVID-19.
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