COVID-19 vs SARS

Assignment: This paper will replace the lab research project. Write a five-page, double-spaced paper on the
COVID-19 pandemic and compare it to another pandemic (SARS, MERS, Spanish flu, etc.) based on research
from peer-reviewed sources. If you are unsure if a resource is okay to use, please check with me. The research
can be completed by your lab groups (using proper social distancing protocol, such as online group chats) or
independently. Even if you do research as a group, each student should submit their own paper that is written
entirely by them (no group sections) and will be submitted on Blackboard for a SafeAssign plagiarism check.
The grading rubric will be posted on Blackboard. APA format should be used for this paper and a Reference
page should be included (separate from the five pages). I will post an APA style guideline on Blackboard for
those of you that are not familiar with this format. I have created a Blackboard forum where I will put some
articles of interest. Feel free to post resources that you would like to share with the class (reliable, non-blog,
resources only please). If you are unsure if you should post a resource, you are welcome to email it to me.
The paper must address the following concepts:
– Symptoms (and range of symptoms) of COVID and another pandemic (SARS, MERS, Spanish flu, etc.)
Explain the physiology of symptoms using the terminology and mechanism of disease from class
material. You can talk about systems we have already covered in class (such as the Cardiovascular,
Nervous, and Endocrine systems) and I will be posting learning modules for systems we have not
covered yet, specifically the respiratory system, kidneys, and the gastrointestinal tract. For instance, if
pneumonia is a symptom, you should explain what pneumonia is, the structures that are affected (such
as, what happens to the alveoli and what happens to O2/CO2, pH, cardio function as a result), what
causes pneumonia, and how it progresses (why some people need to be on a ventilator or have poor
outcomes). You can add figures and diagrams in their research papers (for example comparing the
difference between the corona virus and adenovirus or normal vs inflamed alveoli), however, the
figures should not be a substitute for your written work or fillers for your five pages.
– Transmission characteristics of COVID-19 and another pandemic – Who is getting sick and why?
Explain the transmission patterns of the disease based on age, gender, co-morbidities, etc. This
information for COVID-19 is rapidly changing, so you can also talk about the epidemiology of how
public health researchers learn this information. Also, how has public health policy affected disease
spread? What has worked and what have been the challenges?
– Impacts – Discuss the impacts of this pandemic on the healthcare system. You can talk about the U.S.
healthcare system and/or healthcare in other countries. Since this is a Physiology class, the paper
should focus more on the above two sections, however, healthcare policy affects clinical outcomes.
You can also discuss economic and political impacts if that is of interest to you.
– Career focus – Since many of you are entering health careers, discuss the pandemic in terms of your
future career interest (you can use it as a lens to frame the topics above). For instance, if you are
planning to go to Pharmacy school, you can discuss drug treatment and vaccine development. If you
are interested in clinical medicine, you can discuss triage, treatment of symptoms, testing, quarantines,
etc. You can discuss any of these topics that are of interest to you, even if you are unsure of your
career path and are thinking of going into a different career