News
Neuzil answers questions about face masks as Delta variant spreads
Jul. 7, 2021—There is mounting confusion in the U.S. over face masks after the W.H.O. recommended coverings regardless of vaccination status, but the CDC said it’s not changing its guidance. David Begnaud shows us how states are responding amid a rise in cases of the Delta variant. Then, Dr. Kathleen Neuzil, a professor in vaccinology and the...
Edwards among Tennessee Health Care Hall of Fame Inductees
Jul. 6, 2021—Kathryn Edwards, M.D., is among a new set of inductees into the Tennessee Health Care Hall of Fame. Edwards, the Sarah H. Sell and Cornelius Vanderbilt Endowed Chair in Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, is an honoree in the 2020 class of inductees. A member of the National Academy of Medicine, Edwards’ work focuses on the...
Tsosie trains the next generation of Indigenous data scientists
Jul. 1, 2021—When Krystal Tsosie introduces her genomics students to the concept of biocommercialism — the extraction of biological resources from Indigenous communities without benefit — she always uses the same example: the Human Genome Diversity Project. The researchers who conceived of the project in the 1990s aimed to collect samples from human populations around the world,...
Daniels returns to Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Jun. 30, 2021—Titus Daniels, MD, MPH, MMHC, associate professor of Medicine, has returned to Vanderbilt University Medical Center; he was previously on the faculty from 2007 to 2017. Daniels’s clinical and scholarly interests are in areas of health care epidemiology, antimicrobial stewardship and orthopaedic infections. He continues to enjoy establishing new clinical programs, especially with clinical colleagues...
NBC News talks to Talbot about the need for a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot
Jun. 28, 2021—There’s no evidence yet to suggest that a Covid-19 vaccine booster shot is needed, a working group for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There are a number of thorny questions on the topic of boosters, though, including the need to cover unvaccinated people in the U.S. and the rest of world with a...
Tamiflu-like drugs face long odds against Covid says Schaffner
Jun. 28, 2021—The flu fighter Tamiflu is one of the most recognizable antiviral medications in the world — but its weaknesses suggest that devising a similarly simple treatment for Covid-19 will be challenging. “The benefits are, in an average healthy person, perhaps not that meaningful,” said William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University infectious disease expert who advises the...
Antoon sees spike in RSV cases
Jun. 24, 2021—While the prevalence of COVID-19 is declining in the United States, pediatricians at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt warn parents not to let their guard down. There are still plenty of viral illnesses that can affect children — causing respiratory infections and possible hospitalizations. “We are seeing a spike in respiratory illnesses, especially...
Schaffner comments on Delta variant threat in TN
Jun. 24, 2021—The Biden administration is continuing efforts to push southern states, including Tennessee, to get vaccination rates higher as the threat of the Delta COVID-19 variant continues. First Lady Dr. Jill Biden will be in Nashville Tuesday for a pop-up vaccination clinic. This comes as Tennessee ranks near the bottom among states in vaccination rates with...
Schaffner discusses the link between heat inflammation and the COVID-19 vaccine
Jun. 21, 2021—Heart inflammation cases tentatively linked to the coronavirus vaccine, prompting an emergency meeting of the panel that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccines, may be the result of a microbe known as the enterovirus. Patients and healthcare professionals may be reporting these cases now because they are on heightened alert for possible vaccine-related...
Patrick discusses how COVID-19 has prompted policy shifts
Jun. 17, 2021—The COVID-19 pandemic has undeniably shifted family dynamics. Many parents balanced economic challenges. Children developed new ways to socialize, play and learn. The physical and mental effects of these shifts are beginning to emerge, thanks to research led by Stephen Patrick, M.D., a neonatologist at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and director of The...
NBC News talks to Schaffner about the global need for more COVID-19 vaccines
Jun. 15, 2021—The Maryland-based biotech company Novavax reported Monday that its experimental Covid-19 vaccine is safe and 100 percent effective against moderate to severe disease. The results are from the company’s Phase 3 clinical trials conducted in the U.S. and Mexico. The company has already completed a Phase 3 trial in the U.K., but the U.S. trial results...
Creech suggests COVID-19 safe summer activities for kids
Jun. 14, 2021—Last summer, the pandemic saw many families hunkered down at home and avoiding gathering with anyone outside their household. This summer, COVID-19 vaccines will allow more freedom, but with that comes some confusion about how to navigate plans when some family members are fully vaccinated and others are not. Nonetheless, “the effectiveness of the vaccines is holding,...
COVID-19 vaccine surplus continues to grow says Schaffner
Jun. 14, 2021—In Tennessee and North Carolina, demand for the COVID-19 vaccine has slowed down so much that they have given millions of doses back to the federal government, even though less than half of their total populations are vaccinated. In Tennessee, 2.4 million have been returned to the federal pool. It’s a disappointing development to William...
Talbot and Schaffner look at COVID-19 hospitalizations of adolescents
Jun. 10, 2021—Most COVID-19–associated hospitalizations occur in adults, but severe disease occurs in all age groups, including adolescents aged 12–17 years. COVID-19 adolescent hospitalization rates from COVID-NET peaked at 2.1 per 100,000 in early January 2021, declined to 0.6 in mid-March, and rose to 1.3 in April. Among hospitalized adolescents, nearly one third required intensive care unit...
Dusetzina discusses new Alzheimer’s drug pricing
Jun. 10, 2021—Federal regulators have approved the first new drug for Alzheimer’s disease in nearly 20 years, leaving patients waiting to see how insurers will handle the pricey new treatment. Health care experts expect broad coverage of the drug, which was approved Monday. But what that means for patients will vary widely depending on their insurance plan....
Hydroxychloroquine is not effective for the treatment of COVID-19 says Self
Jun. 10, 2021—Hydroxychloroquine is not a proven treatment for COVID-19, as USA TODAY and several other independent fact-checking organizations have pointed out. Large-scale clinical trials in several countries have found no benefit to using hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19. “The finding that hydroxychloroquine is not effective for the treatment of COVID-19 was consistent across patient subgroups and for all evaluated outcomes, including clinical status, mortality,...
Schaffner comments on the declining COVID-19 cases trend
Jun. 10, 2021—The number of new COVID-19 cases in the United States continues to decline steadily, with increases reported in only three states. According to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the average number of new U.S. cases dipped to under 14,000 a day this past week, about 2,000 fewer than the previous week....
Dusetzina comments on proposed prescription drug bill
May. 26, 2021—The Congressional Budget Office said in 2019 that the bill would likely hamper some pharmaceutical development due to lower “potential global revenues” but predicted that “the effects of the new drug introductions from increased federal spending under the bill on biomedical research would be modest and would almost all occur more than 20 years in the future.”...
CNN talks to Schaffner about critical COVID-19 vaccination milestones
May. 25, 2021—As US officials push for more vaccinations amid slowing demand across the country, another state has now crossed an important milestone. Rhode Island is now the eighth state to have administered at least one Covid-19 shot to 70% of its adult population, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The state joins Connecticut,...
Edwards discusses COVID vaccine safety communication challenges
May. 21, 2021—Public confidence in the safety of COVID-19 vaccines dipped in the United States after government officials paused vaccinations with the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) shot last month, according to a poll. Public-health specialists must always strike a careful balance when communicating about vaccine safety, but the enormous scale of the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out means that safety...
Schaffner comments on low COVID-19 cases
May. 21, 2021—“Cases are going down, deaths are going down, hospitalizations are going down, vaccinations are going up,” Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases professor at Vanderbilt University, told CNN on Tuesday. “If the vaccinations increased even more rapidly, you would see those other metrics, those Covid metrics, going down even more.” “There’s still lots of people...
Acra: New tools to make EGIDs
May. 20, 2021—Currently, ongoing evaluation of children’s eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders (EGIDs) requires repeated endoscopies and biopsies. This is time consuming, expensive, and stressful for the patient, but it is necessary to identify and treat EGIDs before they cause potentially irreversible tissue damage and fibrosis. The most common EGID, eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), is increasingly recognized among children and adults. “It...
Pregnant “Secret Shoppers” Seek Care for Opioid Use Disorder says Patrick
May. 20, 2021—Pregnant women, and women generally, face major barriers to accessing treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) even when there are providers close to where they live, new research shows. Problems include being unable to book appointments and providers’ refusing insurance, both public and private. The study, which involved tens of thousands of phone calls made by “secret...
Talbot votes yes on Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for 12-to-15-year-olds
May. 17, 2021—A Centers For Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee gave Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine the go ahead for use in teenagers from 12 to 15 years old on Wednesday. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky formally adopted the recommendation by Wednesday evening, allowing for the shots to be put into the arms of middle and high schoolers across the country...
Schaffner comments on rise of Mucormycosis during COVID-19 surge in India
May. 14, 2021—India is experiencing a devastating COVID-19 surge, with health officials in the country reporting 366,161 new infections on Monday and 3,754 deaths. Now, the country is seeing a rise in another potentially deadly illness. It’s a fungal infection called mucormycosis, aka “black fungus.” The Times of India says the western state of Maharashtra, which has seen a massive surge...
Creech comments on new COVID-19 vaccine guidelines
May. 13, 2021—The Food and Drug Administration on Monday lowered the age that people can receive Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine in the United States to 12 — a move that is expected to make millions of more shots available. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was authorized for use in people ages 16 and up in December. The FDA has now amended...
Edwards answers questions about the COVID-19 vaccine in children
May. 13, 2021—The Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine can now be used in children ages 12 to 15, according to the Food and Drug Administration, which extended authorization of the vaccine to that age group Monday. On Wednesday, an advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted to recommend use of the vaccine in this age group. Some...
Fauci shares lessons learned during COVID-19 response with MPH students
May. 13, 2021—Anthony Fauci, MD, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden’s administration and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), recently met virtually with students of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine’s Master of Public Health (MPH) program to answer questions about lessons learned during the pandemic and to share career advice. During...
Patrick named 2021 Chancellor Faculty Fellow
May. 12, 2021—Nine outstanding faculty members from across the university have been selected for the 2021 cohort of Chancellor Faculty Fellows. This group is composed of highly accomplished, recently tenured faculty from a wide variety of disciplines and areas of expertise. “Our exceptionally talented faculty drive Vanderbilt’s mission of scholarship, teaching and innovation,” Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said. “By...
Acra honored with VUMC faculty award
May. 11, 2021—Recipients of the JOHN A. OATES AWARD For Two or More Faculty Working Collaboratively or in a Multidisciplinary Manner to Address Important Biological Processes and/or Diseases Sari Acra, MD, MPH, professor of Pediatrics Hernan Correa, MD, associate professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology James Goldenring, PhD, MD, the Paul W. Sanger Professor of Experimental Surgery, professor of Surgery and...
Schaffner comments on COVID-19 hesitancy and the use of incentives
May. 11, 2021—Trusted messengers will continue to play a valuable role in sharing the health benefits and safety of vaccines to those who have health concerns; improving availability in rural communities and pharmacy or transit deserts will bridge convenience gaps for the vulnerable. But to reach the most reluctant or least motivated holdouts — many of whom skew...
The NYT discusses Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine pricing with Dusetzina
May. 5, 2021—The pricing for the United States was in line with the cost of seasonal flu vaccines and much less expensive than vaccines for conditions like shingles, which can run into several hundred dollars. “That price point does not seem offensive, even if you don’t spend a lot of time thinking about prescription drugs,” said Stacie...
COVID-19 vaccine will likely be approved for 12-15-year-olds soon in TN says Creech
May. 5, 2021—In a couple of weeks, children ages 12-15 will likely be able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine pending emergency use authorization. Thousands of kids are getting vaccinated in trials across the country, and now Pfizer is requesting emergency use for 12 to 15-year-olds from the Food and Drug Administration. For some, it’s a game-changer according...
Wiese finds increased risk of serious opioid events in mothers
May. 4, 2021—A new study from Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers finds that new mothers who receive opioids after uncomplicated vaginal births face an increased risk of serious opioid-related events regardless of the opioid dosage, a finding that could significantly impact care delivery. Andrew Wiese, PhD, MPH, assistant professor of Health Policy in the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology,...
Schaffner comments on the dire COVID-19 situation in India
May. 3, 2021—The COVID-19 situation in India is dire. Hospitals are reportedly closing their gates, unable to accept any more patients. Journalists on the ground say the hospitals that do have room are only taking patients who come with their own oxygen because the hospitals have run out. The main question with variants, says William Schaffner, an expert in infectious diseases at...
New hospital COVID-19 data paints a clear picture says Talbot
Apr. 30, 2021—Just a handful of patients who tested positive for COVID at Vanderbilt University Medical Center this year were fully vaccinated. The hospital system found four patients who should have had their full immunity, which comes two weeks after the last dose. One of them died, though not from COVID, VUMC says in a release. Some of...
Schaffner comments on TN COVID-19 vaccination rate
Apr. 28, 2021—Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signaled Tuesday that he will not renew any public health orders, saying “Covid-19 is no longer a health emergency in our state,” though only 25% of the state’s population is fully vaccinated. Health experts say that to reach herd immunity, somewhere between 70-85% of the population probably needs to be immunized. According...
Banerdt led team identifies predictive factors of delirium in Sub-Saharan Africa
Apr. 27, 2021—Severity of illness, history of stroke, and being divorced or widowed were independently predictive of delirium in hospitalized patients in Zambia, according to a study published in PLOS ONE. A collaborative team of researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the University of Zambia Teaching Hospital published the risk factors as a follow-up look at the prevalence and...
ABC News turns to Schaffner to explain the VAERS database
Apr. 26, 2021—Nearly 20 years ago, the federal government launched a massive crowdsourcing project: A database filled by doctors and patients that could give an early warning if problems arose with any of the millions of vaccines Americans take every year. The system, called VAERS, the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, has now been credited with identifying an extremely...
Creech calms fears of getting COVID-19 in between vaccine shots
Apr. 26, 2021—Experts say the first dose may keep coronavirus infections mild, but the protection probably wouldn’t start kicking in for at least a week. A CDC study of 4,000 vaccinated health care workers and first responders found the risk of infection was reduced by 80 percent two weeks or more after the first shot and protection increased to more...
Schaffner discusses resuming COVID-19 vaccines with warning
Apr. 23, 2021—Vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are scheduled to meet Friday to discuss how to move forward with the paused Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine. AstraZeneca’s vaccine has been linked to TTS as well. The World Health Organization and European medical regulators have said the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine,...
Annual COVID-19 vaccine booster shots may not be necessary says Edwards
Apr. 23, 2021—Fully vaccinated Americans may know in the coming months whether they can mix and match follow-up shots, if variants in the virus that causes Covid-19 make those boosters necessary. “I can’t imagine that that would be the case,” Kathryn M. Edwards, a pediatrician and scientific director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program, said of the need for an...
Hatch seeks to increase volume-targeted ventilation use
Apr. 23, 2021—For more than two decades, evidence has accrued that the use of volume-targeted ventilation (VTV) results in better outcomes in neonates who require mechanical ventilation in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). But the use of this particular type of mechanical ventilation has been seriously underused in NICUs in the United States and Canada. The...
Rebeiro finds gains in life expectancy for people with HIV in Latin America
Apr. 22, 2021—In 2003 in Haiti, a 20-year-old in treatment for HIV could have expected to live to 34. But as of 2017, life expectancy for a 20-year-old in treatment for HIV in Haiti is now 61, compared to 70 for Haiti’s general population. A research team from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and institutions across Latin America...
Talbot talks about stoping the pandemic in the U.S.
Apr. 19, 2021—Instead of voting on a recommendation about whether and how the vaccination campaign could be restarted, panel members said they wanted more information on the risks, cause and frequency of the rare brain blood clots. When the panel reconvenes, members could vote at that time to recommend the vaccine for people 18 and older, continue...
Schaffner explores the possible link between COVID-19 vaccine blood clot issues
Apr. 19, 2021—Doctors, scientists and public health experts are turning to Europe for clues, where a similar vaccine made by AstraZeneca — not yet authorized in the U.S. — also has been linked to a number of rare blood clots. “The AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are made in a similar way,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious...
Schaffner discusses COVID-19 vaccine monitoring system
Apr. 14, 2021—Federal health agencies called for a pause on the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine Tuesday after six people in the United States developed a rare blood clot disorder in the weeks after receiving it. But that alarm being sounded, experts told ABC News, could prove to be a good sign. “In a sense, this means our safety...
Schaffner discusses new COVID-19 testing support
Apr. 12, 2021—With roughly 20% of the U.S. population fully vaccinated against the coronavirus according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the nation still remains months away from vaccine availability being widespread in all regions of the country. The official also said the goal is now to ensure that Americans are aware and can easily access the...
Opioid crisis also affects HAV and HBV rates says Foster
Apr. 9, 2021—For the last 15 years, hepatitis A virus (HAV) had been associated mostly with international travel to countries where the virus is endemic, and with contaminated food, but current U.S. outbreaks of HAV are now primarily spread by person-to-person contact. “We’re seeing really large person-to-person outbreaks of hepatitis A among persons who report drug use...
Creech answers vaccine questions
Apr. 9, 2021—Early on in the coronavirus pandemic, infectious diseases expert C. Buddy Creech caught coronavirus, as did his wife and his three children. Each family member was struck differently by the virus, some more severely than others. Creech wrote in an October 2020 essay published by Vanderbilt School of Medicine that his family’s varied experiences “illustrates the wide...
Gillaspie is hopeful about newly expanded lung cancer screening guidelines
Apr. 7, 2021—Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in Tennessee, according to CDC data. Dr. Erin Gillaspie, a thoracic surgeon at Vanderbilt, is a passionate advocate for regular lung screening. She said the CT scan only has a minimal amount of radiation and that technological and research advances only increase the odds of successfully detecting and...
Schaffner discusses double mutant COVID variant
Apr. 7, 2021—The CDC has a special list of variants that the organization is keeping an eye on, with labeling to indicate how concerned the CDC is about any particular variant. Right now the CDC lists variants like B.1.1.7, P.1 and B.1.351 as “variants of concern,” which means they have evidence of being more contagious and causing more severe...
Kumah-Crystal redefines telehealth
Apr. 7, 2021—Avatars, virtual waiting rooms, virtual scribes, in-home testing devices, “syndromatic” facial analysis using AI and machine learning, screen-sharing, and sentiment analysis… There are many exciting innovation possibilities on the horizon that will make telemedicine even more productive, informative, helpful and dare I say fun and personable, than current, in-person doctor visits. Several weeks ago I...
Chung: Codeine metabolizer status in clinical practice
Apr. 7, 2021—Codeine — widely prescribed for pain — is inactive until it is metabolized to morphine by the enzyme CYP2D6. CYP2D6 activity is affected by genetic variation with “poor metabolizers” (PMs) producing almost no morphine from codeine and “intermediate metabolizers” (IMs) having reduced benefit. Most patients receive codeine without CYP2D6 genotyping, and the utility of testing for...
McPheeters discusses why TN seniors are still dying from COVID-19
Apr. 6, 2021—Older Tennesseans were prioritized in the vaccine rollout, but many have yet to receive their first shot. That’s because most elderly residents who live at home weren’t part of Tennessee’s vigorous effort to vaccinate nursing home residents. Because immunity is not immediate after a shot and because vaccine demand outweighs supply, people are still dying at...
Aliyu elected to ASCI
Apr. 1, 2021—Two faculty members of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine are among 80 physician-scientists who will be inducted this year into the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), an elite honor society of physician-scientists from the upper ranks of academic medicine and industry. They are: Muktar Aliyu, MBBS, MPH, DrPH, professor of Health Policy and Medicine;...
Neuzil discusses lessons learned from COVID-19
Apr. 1, 2021—Vanderbilt’s role in shaping each step of the medical response to the pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 began three decades ago and is grounded in the determination of a small group of scientists to understand coronaviruses. The research, and the faculty and alumni who helped lead it, was the topic of the March 23 Vanderbilt Chancellor’s Lecture...
Schaffner concerned about vaccine hesitancy
Apr. 1, 2021—Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Professor William Schaffner of Bloomberg’s Guy Johnson and Alix Steel about his concerns about vaccine hesitancy despite the rate of vaccinations being on pace to soon overtake the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases on “Bloomberg Markets”.
Creech getting ready to recruit kids For COVID vaccine trials
Apr. 1, 2021—Clinical trials testing the COVID vaccine in children are recruiting kids in the Nashville area. Vanderbilt University Medical Center is specifically experimenting with dosages of the Moderna vaccine to determine the amount that works best for different age groups. The first phase of Vanderbilt’s pediatric study will look at children ages 6 to 11, then...
Mitchell continues to help her community in need amid a global pandemic
Apr. 1, 2021—Despite the limitations and fears associated with COVID-19, members of Vanderbilt’s MPH class of 2021 engaged in innovative public health practicum experiences this summer and ventured into countless community health organizations to understand and improve the health of the community during the COVID pandemic. Lauren Mitchell, interned for the Sycamore Institute in Nashville, TN. Mitchell...
Patrick: Preterm births in Tennessee decreased during pandemic
Mar. 26, 2021—Statewide stay-at-home orders put in place as Tennessee fought to control the spread of coronavirus last March were associated with a 14% lower rate of preterm birth, according to a research letter published today in JAMA Pediatrics. Preterm infants have higher morbidity and mortality risks than babies born at term. Senior author Stephen Patrick, MD, director...
Banerdt discusses improving care for COVID-19 in low income areas
Mar. 24, 2021—Recent alumnus, Justin Banerdt ’20 who graduated from the Global Health track of Vanderbilt’s M.P.H. program, reflected on his culminating practicum experiences and professional outlooks in a recent interview. Banerdt completed his practicum in February and March 2020 for Ethiopia Act. Ethiopia Act is a community based public health organization that addresses the needs of...
MPH faculty, alumna recognized for exemplary teaching, research and leadership
Mar. 23, 2021—Two Vanderbilt University Medical Center faculty and a 2017 alumna of the Vanderbilt School of Medicine Master of Public Health program have recently been recognized for their global health accomplishments from the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH). Marie Martin, PhD, MEd, Carolyn Audet, PhD, MSci, and Grace Umutesi, MPH, were each recently recognized by...
MPH Alumni and Students Publish a Toolkit to End Racialized Medicine
Mar. 22, 2021—This month five Vanderbilt M2s published an online toolkit sharing how med students led the charge for a VUMC-wide elimination of race-adjustment in a key measure of renal function. The resource, entitled “CAR Toolkit to End Racialized Medicine: eGFR Edition,” breaks their process down into manageable steps so that med students at other institutions can...
ABC News turns to Schaffner to discuss COVID-19 reinfections
Mar. 21, 2021—“It’s absolutely imperative that people age 65 and older get vaccinated, even if they have had previous COVID infection,” said Dr. William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, who was not involved in the research. Experts caution that reinfection isn’t necessarily something to be alarmed about. A...
COVID-19 test accuracy may vary by time of day says McNaughton
Mar. 18, 2021—The accuracy of gold-standard PCR tests of nasopharyngeal swab samples may vary by time of day, new data suggest. Researchers analyzed 31,094 tests performed in symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals at 127 testing sites, including 2,438 tests that showed COVID-19. In a paper posted on Saturday on medRxiv ahead of peer review, they report tests were...
Edwards says getting a COVID vaccine now is better than waiting for another option
Mar. 17, 2021—For now, experts are clear: The best vaccine is the one about to go into your arm. But as the vaccine supply grows, Americans eventually might find someone asking, “Which vaccine do you want?” The answer for most people will still be “Whatever’s available.” But there are differences that could play a role, though doctors...
Ammar worked with TDH to address income equality during COVID-19
Mar. 17, 2021—Vanderbilt students in the Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) Program reflected on perseverance despite complications with COVID-19. Lin Ammar ’21, a student in the Epidemiology track, was able to stay active during the year full of quarantining and stress. During her experience with the Office of Strategic Initiatives at T.D.H., Ammar had several responsibilities. “I...
MPH alumni lean on public health training during pandemic
Mar. 15, 2021—The team learned to don and doff personal protective equipment every time they entered and exited a patient’s room. They mastered the use of PAPRS, respirators that blow filtered air into space-helmet-like hoods. Designated “dofficers” ensured that their colleagues didn’t inadvertently spread infection as they got in and out of gear. Associate Hospital Epidemiologist Dr. Bryan...
Schaffner warns that vigilance will be necessary as the country reopens
Mar. 15, 2021—For the past year, people have pinned their hopes on vaccines to end the COVID-19 pandemic. As the country reopens, vigilance will be necessary said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee. “As we gradually open schools, restaurants, sporting events, we will need to be alert to whether these activities...
Antoon explains decline in children hospital visits
Mar. 11, 2021—According to research from the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, 43% fewer kids are being the scene for common pediatric illnesses. James Antoon, M.D., M.P.H. candidate, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt said, “We compared hospitalizations from the three years before the pandemic to what we have been seeing since March of 2020.”...
Shorter TB regimen noninferior for people with HIV says Pettit
Mar. 11, 2021—A 4-month daily regimen of rifapentine and moxifloxacin was noninferior to the standard 6-month regimen for tuberculosis treatment among people with HIV enrolled in a phase 3 clinical trial, researchers reported at CROI. “Current international guidelines recommend 6 months of treatment for drug-susceptible pulmonary TB with isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide and ethambutol,” April Pettit, MD, MPH, associate professor...
Vasilevskis gives an update on Shed-MEDS
Mar. 11, 2021—A team of Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers tackling the polypharmacy challenge are in the final year of the largest acute care deprescribing trial to date. Results will reveal the impact of mindful prescription review and intervention as older patients leave acute care to go to a skilled nursing facility (SNF) or an inpatient rehabilitation...
Creech comments on possible future COVID-19 nasal spray vaccine
Mar. 8, 2021—“Delivering vaccines to the sight of first exposure is an advantage,” Dr. Buddy Creech, who directs the Vanderbilt University vaccine-research program and has worked with Altimmune, told Insider. “Typically, you don’t get COVID-19 in the deltoid muscle of your arm — you get it in your nose, eyes, and throat. So it makes sense we’d want...
CDC needs to communicate guidance for vaccinated people says Schaffner
Mar. 8, 2021—Experts say it’s understandable that the CDC has been cautious when many scientific questions remain, including how long vaccine-induced immunity lasts, and whether vaccinated people are still able to transmit the virus to others. The answers are important when advising someone what kind of risk they face in different settings, and how much of a...
Talbot discusses CA COVID-19 vaccine distribution practices
Mar. 8, 2021—Months into a vaccine rollout that has been stymied by shortages and marred by persistent inequities, California is now going all in on a new strategy: flooding those communities hardest hit by COVID-19 with doses. Dr. Helen Keipp Talbot of Vanderbilt University, a member of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, said it will...
McPheeters comments on accelerated COVID-19 vaccine timeline
Mar. 8, 2021—As vaccine experts welcomed President Joe Biden’s accelerated timeline for distribution, they offered some caution about whether the companies can reach their promised doses and delivery dates. While there’s never 100% certainty in manufacturing, pharmaceutical manufacturing is especially finicky and demanding. To get there, officials plan on 400 million doses from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, enough to vaccinate 200 million people,...
Vanderbilt MPH student tackles COVID-19 infection prevention
Mar. 6, 2021—Milner Staub, M.D. (M.P.H. ’21) worked with the VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System’s Infection Prevention Team to combat the COVID crisis. She had the responsibility of developing comprehensive COVID 19 prevention algorithms and understanding the system’s supply chains for medical equipment.
Recent Grad Justin Banerdt’s professional journey in improving care for COVID-19 in low income areas
Mar. 6, 2021—Recent alumnus, Justin Banerdt ’20, who graduated from the Global Health track of Vanderbilt’s M.P.H. program, reflected on his culminating practicum experiences and professional outlooks in a recent interview.
Study to evaluate effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in preventing hospitalization
Mar. 6, 2021—As the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved adding a third COVID-19 vaccine to the rollout, a multicenter study led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center will evaluate how effective the vaccines are in preventing hospitalization from COVID-19. The study is led by Vanderbilt MPH Program graduate Wesley Self, M.D., M.P.H., and current M.P.H. student Bo...
Clinical studies necessary before vaccinating children for COVID-19 says Creech
Mar. 4, 2021—While similar to adults in some ways, children’s biologies and, in particular, immune systems can differ significantly from those of adults. Look no further than the lower rates of COVID-19 among children — they’re half as likely to get it as adults — as well as child-specific reactions to the disease, such as multisystem inflammatory syndrome. “It’s important...
McPheeters discusses COVID-19 vaccination appointment challenges
Mar. 4, 2021—The nation’s vaccine appointment system is broken in many places, leading to a race to find appointments that in many places works best for the lucky, the internet-savvy or the mobile. “I have plenty of neighbors who are driving hours to get to other counties where they can get vaccinated, but not everybody can do that,” said Melissa...
Schaffner explains the role of a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine
Mar. 2, 2021—The U.S. government on Saturday authorized Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, enabling millions more Americans to be vaccinated in the coming weeks and setting the vaccine up for additional approvals around the world. J&J’s vaccine is expected to be used widely around the globe because it can be shipped and stored at normal refrigerator...
Racial disparities in COVID-19 also extend to children says Creech
Feb. 28, 2021—Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the nation’s health inequalities have become even more glaring, with millions of Americans of color, Black and Latino in particular, experiencing more severe illness and death due to COVID-19, than white Americans. Experts are still struggling to understand the extent of this problem, with race data only available for 74% of the...
Neuzil comments on COVID-19 vaccines as makers work to outflank variants
Feb. 28, 2021—Drug companies already have started working on updating their vaccines against new, more transmissible variants — a move encouraged by government officials. While the current shots by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna use a new technology that allows for speedy modifications, changing vaccines adds wrinkles to manufacturing and distribution schemes that are already complex. “It’s a big...
Schaffner comments on lessons learned after a year of COVID-19
Feb. 25, 2021—“First and foremost you have to not reduce the support of local, state, and federal public health departments, which of course we’ve been doing for the past 20 years,” said Dr. William Schaffner, professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee. Schaffner likened health departments...
Belcher among Nashville Business Journal ’40 under 40′ honorees
Feb. 23, 2021—Ryan Belcher, M.D., M. P.H. candidate, assistant professor of otolaryngology – head and neck surgery, Vanderbilt School of Medicine, among Nashville Business Journal ’40 under 40′ honorees.
Banerdt finds delirium in hospitalized patients linked to mortality, disability
Feb. 18, 2021—Delirium, a form of acute brain dysfunction, is widespread in critically ill patients in lower resourced hospitals, and the duration of delirium predicted both mortality and disability at six months after discharge, according to a study published in PLOS ONE. Working with partners in Zambia, Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers evaluated 711 hospitalized critically ill patients; delirium...
Virtual learning has helped keep flu numbers low says Schaffner
Feb. 15, 2021—This past summer, public health officials sounded warnings about the dangers of an impending flu epidemic on top of the coronavirus pandemic. “Flu has been essentially nonexistent,” Dr. William Schaffner, infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University, said in an interview with Weekend Edition. The mild season has benefitted from measures like masks and social distancing, he said. It...
Creech answers Vanderbilt student questions about COVID-19
Feb. 15, 2021—Vanderbilt first-year students recently met with Buddy Creech, MD, MPH, director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program and associate professor of pediatrics, for a special virtual chat to answer some of their COVID-19 vaccine questions.
Schaffner looks at new Tennessee COVID-19 numbers
Feb. 10, 2021—COVID-19 case numbers have taken an optimistic dip in Tennessee, but, according to an infectious disease specialist, it’s too soon to credit the vaccine. “It is definitely nice to talk about this in a guardedly optimistic way,” VUMC Dr. William Schaffner said. “Things seem to be on a reasonable track.” The infectious disease doctor said...
Creech: Studies are unclear if COVID-19 vaccination can prevent transmission
Feb. 9, 2021—Like many questions surrounding Covid-19, there just isn’t enough data yet to say whether vaccines can stop the virus from spreading. “The short answer is we don’t quite know yet,” says Buddy Creech, director of Vanderbilt University’s Vaccine Research Program. “The clinical trials of Covid vaccines thus far have focused primarily on preventing the symptoms and severity of Covid rather...
NPR talks to Schaffner about socializing after receiving a COVID vaccine
Feb. 8, 2021—People 65 years and older account for 80% of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is why they have been prioritized for the vaccines. But elderly people with weakened immune systems may not respond to them as well and the FDA has found that the Moderna and Pfizer...
COVID vaccine could require a booster says Schaffner
Feb. 8, 2021—Vaccination prevents disease, but it’s still unclear if, or how much, the vaccine prevents all infections. “The information is less clear whether the vaccines will prevent the virus from infecting us and we can remain without symptoms. That’s still under study.” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist and a professor of preventive medicine in...
The Washington Post talks to Creech about the COVID-19 vaccine and children
Feb. 8, 2021—Children’s immune responses are different from that of adults, so there is a consensus that pediatric trials are critical for testing the safety, efficacy and immunogenicity (or effective immune response) of vaccines on youths. Positive outcomes in adult studies are reassuring and suggest it is safe to proceed in testing kids, said Buddy Creech, a...
Wilmayani made public health personal during the pandemic
Feb. 1, 2021—Ni Ketut Wilmayani had been in the U.S. just nine months before COVID-19 hit the country in early March. The second-year MPH student, who goes by Wilma, grew up in Bali, Indonesia, and earned her MD before travelling 10,000 miles across the Pacific to earn her public health degree at Vanderbilt University through a Fulbright...
Schaffner warns that people should still be careful after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine
Jan. 31, 2021—With priority groups like front-line workers and doctors receiving their second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, and the prospect of vaccination for the general population on the horizon, many Americans may be wondering: What happens after I get vaccinated? The two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are more than 94% effective and it typically takes a few weeks...
NBC News talks to Creech about new COVID-19 variants
Jan. 31, 2021—A single shot of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine is effective at keeping people out of the hospital and dying from the illness, the company reported Friday. Johnson & Johnson, which made the vaccine in partnership with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, is poised to ask the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization as early as...
USA Today talks to Schaffner about rapid COVID-19 tests
Jan. 25, 2021—President Joe Biden seeks to reset the nation’s inconsistent coronavirus testing efforts with a $50 billion plan and more federal oversight. “Even if the individual test lacks a certain sensitivity, you do that test on a frequent basis, that can really add a great deal of population security,” said William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University School...
Hartert looks at the COVID-19 vaccine in kids
Jan. 22, 2021—How soon the vaccines are available to children will depend on how long the clinical trials and the FDA review process take. In the most optimistic scenario, a vaccine could be available for large numbers of kids, especially older ones, in time for the start of the school year in the fall. But last week,...
Dusetzina looks at drug prices under the new administration
Jan. 22, 2021—Stacie Dusetzina, an associate professor of health policy at Vanderbilt University, said it’s possible Biden could succeed in lowering drug prices by limiting drug price increases to the rate of inflation and capping out-of-pocket spending for seniors covered by Medicare. Both the House and Senate included similar proposals in past drug pricing bills, she said,...
Creech discusses timing of second COVID-19 vaccine
Jan. 22, 2021—The slow rollout of Covid-19 vaccines — including delayed deliveries, states receiving fewer doses than expected and difficulty scheduling appointments — has led to some consternation that people may not be able to get their second dose within the prescribed time frame of 21 or 28 days. “Your immune system is really smart,” said Dr. Buddy Creech,...
Education campaign needed for COVID-19 vaccine says Schaffner
Jan. 20, 2021—The Department of Health and Human Services has promised a long-delayed education campaign aimed at encouraging Americans to get vaccinated will launch in January but no date has been set. Federal officials underestimated vaccine hesitancy and have failed to address many of the public’s questions, said Dr. William Schaffner, a professor and infectious disease expert at the...
Talbot sets expectations for COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan
Jan. 15, 2021—U.S. health officials said Tuesday that states should expand vaccine eligibility to people 65 years and older as well as those with pre-existing health conditions, a large group that most states didn’t expect to inoculate for weeks. Another concern, state and local health officials, said was the U.S. government’s plans to change in two weeks how it...
Schaffner comments on extremely low flu activity
Jan. 12, 2021—Hospitals have been bracing for a possible “twindemic” this winter, a simultaneous outbreak of flu while COVID-19 also surges, but data shows influenza activity remains unusually low right now. Dr. William Schaffner from Vanderbilt University Medical Center says there are a few possible explanations. Dr. Schaffner says, “Flu is imported into the United States from...
CNN talks to Creech about how mutations could help COVID-19 evade vaccines
Jan. 7, 2021—Two new variants of the coronavirus have emerged that seem to make the virus more easily transmitted. But will they stymie vaccination efforts? All the current vaccines target what is known as the spike protein — the structure the virus uses to get into the cells it attacks. “This protein happens to be so important...
Neuzil weighs in on dosing plans for authorized COVID-19 vaccines
Jan. 6, 2021—As the COVID-19 pandemic surges, fueled in some places by new, fast-spreading variants, officials and public health experts are debating strategies for stretching limited supplies of vaccines. And vaccinemakers have been caught in the middle. Over the past week, one has endorsed a U.K. decision to extend the interval between an initial priming vaccine dose...
CNN talks to Schaffner about the COVID vaccine in rural communities
Dec. 30, 2020—An influential Covid-19 model from the University of Washington predicts there will be 562,000 deaths by April 1st. If 95% of people wore masks, 55,000 lives could be saved. Dr. Chris Murray is the director of the group at the University of Washington that’s been working on these models throughout the pandemic. He joins AC360...
Patrick Predicts Risk of NAS with New Model
Dec. 23, 2020—A published predictive model and website application are a first step in helping clinicians tailor treatment of of neonates at risk for neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) more appropriately. Stephen Patrick, M.D., a neonatologist and director of the Center for Child Health Policy at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, is the primary investigator on this work. Patrick says...
Guillamondegui named chief of Division of Trauma
Dec. 17, 2020—Oscar Guillamondegui, MD, MPH, has been named chief of the Division of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care for the Department of Surgery. Guillamondegui, professor of Surgery, who has been with Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 17 years, served as medical director for the Trauma ICU, director of the Vanderbilt Multidisciplinary Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic and...
Schaffer comments on approved COVID-19 vaccine as distribution begins
Dec. 14, 2020—The mRNA vaccine platform is novel in regulated use, but has been under investigation for nearly 2 decades. As William Schaffner, MD, professor of Prevention Medicine at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center told Contagion, the expedited progression of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines including BNT162b2 and Moderna’s mRNA-1273 are preceded by 10-15 years’ worth of clinical assessment. As...
Creech comments on potential COVID-19 vaccine side effects
Dec. 7, 2020—Covid-19 vaccine side-effects that range from fevers and chills to headaches and joint pain could keep some doctors and nurses from working amid a nationwide surge in hospitalizations. Health systems are gearing up to vaccinate key hospital staff with the Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. coronavirus shots, which could start shipping in the U.S. in a matter of weeks, pending emergency-use...
Prisons should be COVID-19 vaccine priority says Schaffner
Dec. 7, 2020—After a federal advisory committee recommended this week that health care workers, nursing home residents and staff be the first to receive COVID-19 vaccines, discussions turned to who should be next in line, as initial supplies remain limited. Prisoners should be high on the list, according to the American Medical Association, the nation’s largest physician group, which this month called...
NYT talks to Diamond about New Sports Guidelines for Young Athletes After Covid-19
Dec. 7, 2020—The American Academy of Pediatrics posted updated guidance Friday on young people and sports in the pandemic, making a strong recommendation that participants should wear face masks for all indoor sports. It made exceptions only while swimming and diving, since it’s harder to breathe through wet masks; during gymnastics and cheerleading, where masks could get caught...
Pungarcher comments on efforts to help homeless out of cold during COVID-19
Dec. 7, 2020—As below-freezing temperatures swept into Middle Tennessee this week, cold weather canvassers with the group Open Table Nashville prepared for a winter unlike any other. Every year, the non-profit patrols Metro to help shuttle people experiencing homelessness to the Metro cold shelter. It’s an effort to get people off of the streets during dangerously cold...
MPH Duggan and Welch work to make health systems age-friendly
Dec. 7, 2020—Older adults face the greatest risk of preventable harms resulting from their healthcare experience. Age-Friendly Health Systems, an initiative of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and The John A. Hartford Foundation, aims to ensure that all older adults receive high-quality, evidence-based care to minimize preventable harm. “For older adults, who make up a third of hospitalized...
Buntin led JAMA Health Forum to become full-fledged journal in 2021
Dec. 7, 2020—Just a year after its founding as an online channel of information, the Journal of the American Medical Association’s (JAMA’s) Health Forum will become a full-fledged journal in January 2021. Melinda Buntin, PhD, Mike Curb professor of Health Policy and chair of the Department of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, is deputy editor of the journal. JAMA...
Health Policy Panel discusses current landscape
Dec. 7, 2020—The difficulty of policymaking with a divided government and electorate was the underlying theme of the Research into Policy and Practice webinar sponsored by the Department of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center as panelists and attendees gathered virtually to take measure of the post-election American landscape, over which hangs the pall of a...
Schaffner praises CDC quarantine revisions
Dec. 3, 2020—The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shortened the recommended length of quarantine after exposure to someone positive for COVID-19. Vanderbilt’s Dr. William Schaffner, a global expert on infectious diseases, praised the CDC’s new guidelines. “A lot of us have been hoping we get a good revision of quarantine,” he said.
Creech leads COVID-19 vaccine trial as company seeks emergency approval
Dec. 3, 2020—Moderna Inc. is seeking emergency approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to distribute its COVID-19 vaccine. A group of Tennesseans has already taken that specific vaccine as part of a clinical trial. “We’re in uncharted territory in terms of the timelines because we are trying to find that Goldilocks place of not too...
The CDC is creating an equitable COVID vaccine distribution plan says Schaffner
Dec. 2, 2020—The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is meeting on Covid-19 vaccine distribution. CNBC’s “Power Lunch” team discusses how it will be decided who gets vaccines first with CNBC’s Meg Tirrell and Dr. William Schaffner, a CDC adviser and professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Talbot casts vote on COVID vaccine distribution plan
Dec. 2, 2020—Health care workers and nursing home residents should be at the front of the line when the first coronavirus vaccine shots become available, an influential government advisory panel said Tuesday. About 3 million people are living in nursing homes, long-term chronic care hospitals, and other U.S. long-term care facilities. Those patients and the staff members...
Chicago trauma center is closing the racial gap says Rogers
Nov. 26, 2020—The University of Chicago’s Level 1 adult trauma center — the first on the city’s South Side in 30 years — is making a dent in racial disparities, according to a new study. A study released Wednesday by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows reduced ambulance run times across the city, but...
Patrick finds that younger parents less likely to vaccinate against COVID-19
Nov. 23, 2020—Younger parents were much less likely than older parents to say they planned to vaccinate their children and themselves against COVID-19, according to a research letter published online in medRxiv by authors at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine....
Apple looks at the importance of wellness throughout medical training
Nov. 18, 2020—Rachel Apple, M.D., M.P.H., served as a chair and president of the Wellness Committee in medical school, started “PGY-Mom” at VUMC to support the unique needs of resident physician moms and founded Vanderbilt Physician Parent Group “Wellness has been important to me throughout my medical training. Although I have always aspired to find the right...
Fill reignites passion as public health leader during pandemic
Nov. 17, 2020—Until recently, most Tennesseans wouldn’t know who Mary-Margaret Fill, MD, MPH candidate, was or what she did as a leading epidemiologist at the Tennessee Department of Health. Then a pandemic happened. Early on in the pandemic, Fill occasionally appeared in front of Tennesseans during the governor’s frequent briefings on the rising number of COVID-19 cases...
Patrick looks at how the healthcare landscape has changed during COVID-19
Nov. 17, 2020—Dr. Stephen Patrick wrote in guest column about the experience his wife and children had when a man shook his head at them in disgust just because they were wearing masks at the grocery store. Nearly five months later, COVID-19 cases are raging and the death rate is twice as high in counties without a mask mandate compared with counties...
The New York Times discusses the pandemic and capitalism with Dusetzina
Nov. 17, 2020—Over the summer, Pfizer had reached a $1.95 billion “advance purchase” agreement with the United States government, ensuring it would be well compensated for eventually delivering 100 million doses of vaccine. In other words, though the government did not directly fund the drug development, it created the groundwork in which the pharmaceutical company could spend...
Struggling rural hospitals are overwhelmed by COVID-19 deaths says Schaffner
Nov. 17, 2020—Many of the nation’s nearly 1,800 rural hospitals lack the equipment, workforce and expertise to handle a surge of COVID-19patients. Nurses and doctors are getting sick, leaving already short-staffed hospitals more desperate for workers. “These are often family doctors taking care of these patients,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University School of Medicine professor of preventive medicine and an infectious...
Graves: Tennessee areas without mask requirements have higher death toll per capita
Nov. 13, 2020—Tennessee areas where mask requirements were instituted over the summer have substantially lower death rates due to COVID-19 as compared to areas without mask requirements, according to a new analysis by Vanderbilt Department of Health Policy researchers. The analysis, led by John Graves, PhD, associate professor of Health Policy and director of the Vanderbilt Center...
CNBC discusses next steps in Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine development with Neuzil
Nov. 11, 2020—Dr. Kathleen Neuzil from the University of Maryland School of Medicine breaks down the next steps and challenges involved in getting Pfizer’s 90% effective vaccine to the broader American population. Plus, after Monday’s raucous trading session, CNBC’s Kate Rooney dives into which investors were buying the dip in “stay at home” stocks like Zoom and Peloton.
Schaffner is optimistic that COVID-19 vaccinations may start in December
Nov. 11, 2020—William Schaffner, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine professor, says he’s “guardedly optimistic” a Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc. may be used to protect health-care workers before the end of the year. He speaks with Bloomberg’s Alix Steel on “Bloomberg Markets.”
Self led study shows Hydroxychloroquine does not help patients hospitalized with COVID-19
Nov. 10, 2020—Findings from a national study published Nov. 9 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) “do not support” the use of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of adult patients hospitalized with COVID-19, the report concludes. The Outcomes Related to COVID-19 treated with Hydroxychloroquine among In-patients with symptomatic Disease (ORCHID) study found that, when compared to...
Schaffner reacts to new COVID-19 vaccine news
Nov. 9, 2020—Pfizer Inc PFE.N said on Monday its experimental vaccine was more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 based on initial data from a large study, a major victory in the fight against the pandemic. Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE BNTX.O are the first drugmakers to show successful data from a large-scale clinical trial of a coronavirus vaccine. “The...
Creech recruiting for Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial
Nov. 9, 2020—Vanderbilt University Medical Center is recruiting candidates to participate in their second COVID-19 vaccine trial. “By having vaccines that work in different ways. By different manufacturers, maybe with different those schedules, that really gives us options when we go to deploy this,” said Dr. Buddy Creech, director of Vanderbilt’s vaccine research program. That’s the hope...
Grijalva discusses COVID-19 household transmission with Nashville Public Radio
Nov. 6, 2020—A study that’s causing public health officials to grow more concerned about COVID spreading between loved ones is based primarily on families in Nashville. Researchers hope it’ll reveal the most common ways relatives and roommates get each other sick. The existing research on household transmission of COVID-19, like this study from New York, mostly relies on...
Creech begins study of second COVID-19 vaccine
Nov. 5, 2020—Vanderbilt University Medical Center has begun recruiting up to 250 participants for a phase 3 clinical trial testing an investigational COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson. “The COVID-19 vaccine landscape is evolving quickly, and we are proud to be conducting additional vaccine clinical trials here at Vanderbilt,” said Buddy...
Schaffner comments on new COVID-19 lockdowns
Nov. 5, 2020—As the United States teeters on the edge of what some say is the start of a dark winter with roughly 90,000 new Covid-19 cases per day, Europe is already seeing an “astronomical” number of new cases and deaths, prompting governments to roll out strict lockdown measures to slow the spread. Like the U.S., pandemic fatigue has set...
Health Policy led study highlights the importance of masks during the pandemic
Nov. 5, 2020—In addition to slowing the spread of the virus, new evidence from Tennessee shows that mask mandates could reduce the severity of the virus. A paper by researchers at Vanderbilt found that at Tennessee hospitals where at least 75 percent of Covid-19 patients came from counties with mask requirements, coronavirus hospitalization rates are the same as they...
Schools need contact tracing and COVID-19 tracking protocols to open says Buntin
Nov. 3, 2020—“We should shift the discussion from the risk of opening K-12 schools to how those schools can open while minimizing risk,” said Melinda Buntin, chair of the Department of Health Policy at Vanderbilt School of Medicine. Buntin said researchers and school leaders should study what’s working in schools that open successfully without cases, or are...
Talbot reveals how easily COVID-19 spreads inside a home
Nov. 3, 2020—The new study from Vanderbilt University Medical Center reveals how vulnerable family members can be inside a home where someone has contracted the coronavirus. “What we found is COVID spreads very rapidly and very quickly inside a home,” said Dr. Keipp Talbot of Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “Once it’s in your house, it’s very hard...
Dusetzina comments on proposed debit cards to offset seniors’ drug costs
Nov. 3, 2020—The nation’s 46.5 million enrollees in Medicare’s Part D prescription drug program — except for those who qualify for low-income subsidies — face unlimited out-of-pocket exposure to drug costs even though the Affordable Care Act finally closed the infamous “doughnut hole.” After Part D enrollees have spent $6,550 and reached the catastrophic threshold in a...
PBS talks to Schaffner about COVID-19 vaccine expectations
Nov. 2, 2020—The White House and many Americans have pinned their hopes for defeating the COVID-19 pandemic on a vaccine being developed at “warp speed.” But some scientific experts warn they’re all expecting too much, too soon. “There’s a tension between getting every piece of information and getting a vaccine [out] in time to save lives,” said...
Grijalva leads transmission of SARS-COV-2 infections in households study
Nov. 2, 2020—Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 occurs within households; however, transmission estimates vary widely and the data on transmission from children are limited. Findings from a prospective household study with intensive daily observation for ≥7 consecutive days indicate that transmission of SARS-CoV-2 among household members was frequent from either children or adults. Household transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is common and...
NPR talks to McPheeters about missing COVID-19 data
Oct. 30, 2020—As coronavirus cases rise swiftly around the country, surpassing both the spring and summer surges, health officials brace for a coming wave of hospitalizations and deaths. Knowing which hospitals in which communities are reaching capacity could be key to an effective response to the growing crisis. That information is gathered by the federal government —...
MPH alumna graduates from SCARD-GE LEAD program
Oct. 29, 2020—Lucy Spalluto, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Radiology and Director of Women in Radiology (WIR), recently graduated from the Leading, Empowering and Disrupting (LEAD) Program, a joint initiative of the Society of Chairs of Academic Radiology Departments’ (SCARD) and GE Healthcare. She was among 20 emerging leaders from radiology and industry selected to participate in the 2019-2020 LEAD Program....
Areas with mask requirements continue to see less COVID-19 hospitalizations says Graves
Oct. 28, 2020—Areas without mask mandates are leading to a larger increase in hospitalizations due to COVID, according to local hospital researchers. This analysis comes from researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. These researchers said there has been “a resurgence in hospitalized COVID-19 patients since early October.” The hospitals taking in patients...
MPH students dive into COVID-19 response on local and state levels
Oct. 28, 2020—From accomplished alumni to first-year trainees, the Vanderbilt Master of Public Health (MPH) program has brought a wave of support to fight the spread of COVID-19 in Tennessee.
COVID treatment studied by Creech gains FDA approval
Oct. 28, 2020—Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center played a key role in the development of remdesivir, the first drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of COVID-19. The FDA announced last week that it had approved remdesivir for use in adult and pediatric COVID-19 patients 12 years of age and older who require...
CNN talks to Schaffner about how vaccines can help end racial disparities
Oct. 28, 2020—The world is focused on a Covid-19 vaccine to get everyone back to some version of normal, but the vaccine could also have another beneficial effect: It could reduce the disparities that have made the disease so deadly for some racial groups. A recent study showed that a vaccine against pneumococcal disease erased racial differences in the...
Patrick: COVID is making it harder for pregnant women who use opioids to get effective treatment
Oct. 28, 2020—Opioid use in pregnancy has prompted new guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics aimed at improving care for women and for newborns affected by their mothers’ drug use. The number of affected women and infants has increased in recent years but they often don’t get effective treatment, and the coronavirus pandemic may be worsening that problem,...
Schaffner discusses how COVID-19 is affecting the NFL
Oct. 25, 2020—The NFL and the players association are trying to play this season during the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 220,000 in the United States, with some survivors left dealing with issues months after infection: fatigue, headaches, muscle and joint paints, fuzzy thinking and organ dysfunction. Dr. William Schaffner, professor of infectious diseases at...
Foster looks at how Hep A research can help with COVID-19
Oct. 22, 2020—Roslyn Stone, who manages health incidents for many of the nation’s largest restaurants and foodservice chains as the chief operating officer for Zero Hour Health, clearly has Dr. Monique Foster, who is epidemiology lead for hepatitis A at the Division of Viral Hepatitis at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC0 in Atlanta, on...
McPheeters discusses Tennessee’s latest COVID-19 outbreaks
Oct. 22, 2020—In Tennessee, more people than ever before are currently hospitalized for COVID-19. A little more than 200 intensive care unit beds are left in a state with a population of more than 6.8 million people. In Nashville, only eight percent of ICU beds remained available over the weekend. Since August, outbreaks have shifted from the...
NPR talks to Buntin about reopening schools during the pandemic
Oct. 22, 2020—While agreeing that emerging data is encouraging, other experts said the United States as a whole has made little progress toward practices that would allow schools to make reopening safer — from rapid and regular testing, to contact tracing to identify the source of outbreaks, to reporting school-associated cases publicly, regularly and consistently. “We are...
Graves looks at health insurance for the unemployed during COVID-19
Oct. 22, 2020—COBRA allows workers to continue with the same insurance plan they had through their employer, generally for up to 18 months. “It’s expensive, and particularly expensive for someone losing a job,” said John Graves, an associate professor of health policy at Vanderbilt University. That’s because employers would no longer subsidize the cost. Unemployed workers would...
Neuzil uses science to achieve health equity in her work with vaccines
Oct. 20, 2020—For some women, their dual roles as pioneers and underdogs have shaped how they view their work. “What drives me? Using science to achieve health equity!” said Dr. Kathleen Neuzil in an email. Neuzil is one of the world’s top vaccine researchers and the director of the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Center for...
For seniors on Medicare, new offerings may be appealing says Keohane
Oct. 20, 2020—Medicare provides health care to those 65 and older, and covers more than 60 million Americans. Medicare open enrollment began Thursday. This year, open enrollment looks different, and so do the options seniors have to choose from. There are federally funded helpers who assist beneficiaries. But this year with the pandemic, in-person assistance is either limited...
Aerosol spread of COVID-19 is uncommon says Schaffner
Oct. 20, 2020—Dr. Bill Schaffner, an epidemiologist at Vanderbilt University, maintained that aerosol spread of the coronavirus is “rather uncommon” and the potential risk reduction from wide use of air filters is somewhat limited. “If we thought airborne transmission were notable, then there would be a much larger call to critically evaluate air handling systems, all the...
Mask-wearers are not more likely to contract COVID-19 says Self
Oct. 20, 2020—It’s been over six months since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that Americans wear face masks in public spaces to combat the spread of COVID-19. But some internet users continue to question the effectiveness of covering their faces. There is nothing in the report to back the claim that masks collect virus particles or make patients more likely...
Opioid crisis also affects HAV and HBV rates says Foster
Oct. 16, 2020—For the last 15 years, hepatitis A virus (HAV) had been associated mostly with international travel to countries where the virus is endemic, and with contaminated food, but current U.S. outbreaks of HAV are now primarily spread by person-to-person contact. “We’re seeing really large person-to-person outbreaks of hepatitis A among persons who report drug use...
Martin Elected to CUGH Education Committee
Oct. 15, 2020—The Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) Subcommittee on Masters and Undergraduate Degrees in Global Health (SMUDGH) has elected Marie Martin, Ph.D., M.Ed., assistant professor of Health Policy and associate director for Education and Training for VIGH to serve a 2-year term on the committee, which focuses on helping universities develop high-quality programs in global health...
Schaffner comments on new COVID-19 vaccine trial concerns
Oct. 15, 2020—Johnson & Johnson said on Tuesday it would take a few days at least to hear from a safety monitoring panel about its review of the company’s late-stage COVID-19 vaccine trial after announcing that the large study had been paused due to an unexplained illness in one participant. AstraZeneca and medical experts say trial suspensions...
Vanderbilt Health looks at why health policy matters
Oct. 12, 2020—Nestled in the heart of Nashville – a hub of U.S. healthcare operations – is a seven-year-old department taking on a grueling task: making people, and in particular lawmakers, care about health policy and health policy’s implications. In 2020, the need for this work startlingly clear as the U.S. grapples with the impact of COVID-19....
Rural communities see trend in COVID-19 infections among older population Graves says
Oct. 12, 2020—Researchers at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine say the demographics for COVID-19 infections are trending from younger people to people in their 50s or older. Elaborating on a heat map released Tuesday, Dr. John Graves, associate professor at Vanderbilt, said data suggests the older population are now spreading the coronavirus. Data for the majority of the...
Schaffner cautions against large crowds during COVID-19 pandemic
Oct. 10, 2020—“I would certainly be very cautious and suggest that people err on the side of caution rather than on the side of boldness,” said William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “I would certainly not recommend that anyone who has recently recovered, even 11 days after having a...
Treating appendicitis with antibiotics instead of surgery may be good option says Self
Oct. 8, 2020—Antibiotics instead of surgery may be a good choice for some, but not all, patients with appendicitis, according to results from a study reported today in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study compared immediate surgery for appendicitis against an alternative approach that used antibiotics initially to treat it, then only moved to surgery if...
Dusetzina comments on the logistics of producing drug cards quickly
Oct. 8, 2020—Career civil servants have raised questions about the Trump administration project’s goals and the drug-discount plan’s structure, concerns that have been echoed by outside experts. “There are a lot of things that seem problematic,” said Stacie Dusetzina, a Vanderbilt professor who’s studied Medicare’s drug program and reviewed the draft proposal obtained by POLITICO. “It’s an...
Schaffner discusses COVID-19 contact tracing in the White House
Oct. 6, 2020—President Trump and first lady Melania Trump announced on social media early Friday morning they had tested positive for COVID-19. Dr. William Schaffner stresses that anyone in recent contact with the president and first lady must quarantine. “I am sure there is now a very large contact tracing network going on of all those people...
Rolling Stone talks to Neuzil about COVID-19 vaccine race
Oct. 6, 2020—Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine put their lives on hold to create a Covid-19 vaccine — and with the weight of the world on their shoulders, there’s no end in sight. Following medical school, doctors complete a notoriously stressful one-year internship. It involves working long hours, dealing with intense pressure, and spending...
Children are not invulnerable to COVID-19 says Schaffner
Sep. 30, 2020—Children can catch, suffer and die from the coronavirus, according to the report. Between March 1 and Sept. 19, at least 277,285 schoolchildren in 38 states tested positive for the virus. And 51 of them — including 20 youngsters 5 to 11 years old — died of COVID-19. In all, 3,189 children ages 5 to 17 were...
Covid-19 twice as likely in teens than in younger kids says Creech
Sep. 29, 2020—Teenagers are twice as likely to be diagnosed with Covid-19 than younger kids, according to a report released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data could help to “inform decisions about in-person learning,” the study authors wrote. The findings should give us reassurance” that sending kids back to school is “an appropriate...
Buntin looks at U.S. households struck by COVID-19 financial hardships
Sep. 28, 2020—COVID-19 has caused widespread damage to the economy — so wide that it can be easy to overlook how unevenly households are suffering. But new polling data out this month reveal households that either have had someone with COVID-19 or include someone who has a disability or special needs are much more likely to also be hurting...
Lack of trust in a COVID-19 vaccine is a problem says Schaffner
Sep. 28, 2020—Covid-19 vaccinations could start as early as November or December, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, said Friday. Fauci’s comments come as the US passed 7 million confirmed cases of Covid-19, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. More than 203,000 people have died. While vaccines for Covid-19 are being tested, the growing skepticism...
CNBC talks to Graves about next steps for the Affordable Care Act
Sep. 28, 2020—The Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments in a case against the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, after the presidential election in November. Millions of Americans have been laid off during the coronavirus pandemic and lost employer-sponsored health insurance along with their jobs. People could continue their employer-based insurance through a program...
Schaffner discusses new research on the asymptomatic spread of COVID-19
Sep. 23, 2020—“Even if we’re seemingly healthy, we have to wear masks” to reduce the risk of asymptomatic spread, Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, said. Swab samples taken from patients’ noses and throats found no difference in the viral loads of either group. That suggests both groups...
Schaffner discusses the CDC’s COVID-19 response
Sep. 22, 2020—Dr. William Schaffner, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and Former CDC Official, joins Yahoo Finance’s Akiko Fujita to break down the latest coronavirus developments, as the CDC changes their guidelines on aerosol spread of the virus.
Buntin is a Nashville Business Journal’s Women of Influence
Sep. 17, 2020—Get to know Women of Influence winner Melinda Buntin, of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
Schaffner comments on COVID-19 vaccine trial complications
Sep. 17, 2020—The precise cause of the disease is key to the decision by authorities whether to resume the trial. Sometimes an underlying medical condition is “unmasked” by a person’s immune response to the vaccine, leading to illness, as happened with the MS patient. In that case, the trial might be continued without fear, because the illness...
Siloam Health welcomes Next Generation Board Member Belcher
Sep. 15, 2020—Siloam Health is blessed to have the input of an amazing group of individuals who help ensure that we carry out our mission and vision with excellence, integrity, and compassion. These leaders serve in the context of several different bodies with overlapping missions: The Board of Directors, which is legally responsible for governance, fiscal oversight, and strategic planning for...
Roumie to direct MPH Program
Sep. 15, 2020—Christianne Roumie, MD, MPH, has been named director of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Master of Public Health program, a two-year interdisciplinary program accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health. Roumie, who completed her MPH at Vanderbilt in 2005, credits the program for igniting her passion for public health. Since earning her...
VUMC will take part of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine study says Creech
Sep. 14, 2020—Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is among participants working on a 30,000 person nationwide study involving a promising COVID-19 vaccine. Buddy Creech, MD, MPH, the director of Vanderbilt’s Vaccine Research Program says the center will take part in the Moderna study and they are currently enrolling participants for a vaccine developed by Pfizer. As Creech...
Community and close contact exposures contribute to the spread of COVID-19
Sep. 10, 2020—Findings from a case-control investigation of symptomatic outpatients from 11 U.S. health care facilities found that close contact with persons with known COVID-19 or going to locations that offer on-site eating and drinking options were associated with COVID-19 positivity. Adults with positive SARS-CoV-2 test results were approximately twice as likely to have reported dining at...
People should get their flu vaccine now advises Talbot
Sep. 9, 2020—Doctors and health officials are urging Americans to get vaccinated against influenza in record numbers this fall to avoid a dreaded scenario: flu colliding with a raging coronavirus pandemic. “If you let your health suffer, you’re more at risk from covid-19,” Vanderbilt University infectious-disease expert Keipp Talbot said. “If you’re going to be exposed to anyone at all,...
Keeping safety in forefront key to successful sports season says Diamond
Sep. 4, 2020—For weeks, coaches have put athletes through an endless series of drills in hopes that the repeated exercises will lead to a mastery of the skills. Their ultimate goal — wins. While plays and routes will become second nature to student athletes, there are a few additional skills that need to be in the lineup...
Shah looks a gastric cancer screening demographics
Sep. 4, 2020—New findings point to the severest impacts by race and ethnicity, anatomic site. Non-white Americans, especially Asian Americans, are at disproportionately higher risk of developing noncardia gastric cancer (the most common type of gastric cancer globally) compared to non-Hispanic white Americans. A new study published in Gastroenterology breaks down risk according to specific ethnicities and anatomic sites (cardia versus noncardia). “We...
COVID infections in health workers often go undetected says Self
Sep. 4, 2020—Many COVID-19 infections among health care workers go undetected, likely because many people infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, have mild or no symptoms, a study led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Wesley Self, MD, MPH, shows. The study, released this week in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly...
Talbot studies the effect of PCV13 on socioeconomic health disparities
Sep. 4, 2020—In a major public health success, the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine PCV13, or Prevnar 13, in 2010 in the United States is associated with reduction in socioeconomic disparities and the near elimination of Black-white-based racial disparities for invasive pneumococcal disease. That’s according to an upcoming study in The Journal of Infectious Diseases by Rameela Raman, PhD, Helen Keipp Talbot, MD,...
MPH Students Dive in to Support COVID-19 Response
Sep. 4, 2020—Graduates from Vanderbilt’s Master in Public Health (MPH) program didn’t plan to become front-line soldiers against the COVID-19 global pandemic, but several have found themselves putting their training — and their career goals — front and center.
Self awarded grant to lead nationwide convalescent plasma study
Aug. 27, 2020—Vanderbilt University Medical Center has been awarded a one-year, $34-million grant by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, to conduct a nationwide study of “convalescent plasma” as a treatment for COVID-19. The randomized, controlled trial will test whether infusions of plasma, the liquid part of blood collected...
Schaffner worries about public trust if a COVID-19 vaccine is rushed
Aug. 27, 2020—After the Food and Drug Administration offered shaky data to justify its approval of blood plasma to treat COVID-19, some scientists are worried the agency could bow to pressure to approve a coronavirus vaccine before it’s fully tested. Pushing a vaccine through without rigorous review could affect the public’s trust in vaccines for years to come, said Dr. William Schaffner, a...
Hartert: Opening schools is an experiment in COVID-19 transmission
Aug. 27, 2020—For parents and teachers, the reopening of schools has been a chaotic mess. Guidelines and procedures seem to change daily. Classroom policies or even whether in-person learning occurs at all depends on where you live and often the politics of who sits in the governor’s mansion. But for epidemiologists, this fall is proving to be...
Little data on new COVID-19 treatments says Schaffner
Aug. 26, 2020—President Donald Trump on Sunday announced emergency authorization to treat COVID-19 patients with convalescent plasma — a move he called “a breakthrough,” one of his top health officials called “promising” and other health experts said needs more study before it’s celebrated. There’s been little data on how effective it is or whether it must be...
Dusetzina comments on insurer’s role during COVID-19 treatment
Aug. 26, 2020—If you need a COVID-19 test, that’s covered by insurance. It’s federal law. But when it comes to treatment, that’s another story. A lot of insurers initially said they’d fully cover the cost of care, but a lot of those provisions have or are about to expire. A lot of these coverage provisions were already...
COVID-19 vaccine will be distributed following approval says Moore
Aug. 26, 2020—Operation Warp Speed – the White House-led partnership for COVID-19 answers – is pushing its partners to be ready to distribute a coronavirus vaccine by Nov. 1. No one can say with certainty when the FDA will approve a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine because it’s not known when the results of large clinical trials will be available or whether those results...
Lack of faith in a COVID-19 vaccine is worrisome says Hartert
Aug. 16, 2020—The United States needs to get control of Covid-19 and carefully reopen the country, or the consequences could be devastating, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday. “To think that you can ignore the biologic and get the economy back, it’s not gonna happen,” Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious diseases expert, told actor Matthew McConaughey in an...
Edwards looks at the COVID-19 vaccine timeline
Aug. 16, 2020—In less than six months, Covid-19 has ravaged the globe, infecting more than 7 million people and killing more than 400,000. According to a study in the journal Immunology, more than half the world has been under some form of lockdown as a result of the contagion. People around the world have their hopes pinned on a vaccine...
Dusetzina comments on the possible COVID-19 vaccine costs
Aug. 16, 2020—America’s long-running debate over prescription drug prices feels more urgent than ever during the Covid-19 pandemic. Most people are rooting for the US drug industry — self-styled, and not without reason, as the most innovative in the world — to develop a vaccine or a cure for the disease that has taken more than 160,000 American lives. But...
Nicholson: Fecal Microbiota Transplantation for C. difficile
Aug. 14, 2020—Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is increasingly recognized as a public health threat beyond its prevalence as a cause of diarrheal illness in hospitalized adults. According to a 2011 CDC-funded study, CDI has led to 453 million infections and about 29,000 deaths in the U.S. alone. Forty-one percent of these cases were community acquired. Beyond antibiotics, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is used...
Graves finds association between masks and slower growth in COVID-19 hospitalizations
Aug. 14, 2020—In a new analysis, researchers from the Department of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and Vanderbilt University Medical Center have found a relationship between the growth of hospitalizations and masking requirements put in place across the state. Hospitals that have more than 75% of their patients from areas without masking requirements in...
Patrick looks at patients’ access to opioid treatment
Aug. 14, 2020—Women are having a difficult time getting into treatment for opioid addictions, according to a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study published today in JAMA Open. The “secret shopper” study used trained actors attempting to get into treatment with an addiction provider in 10 U.S. states. The results, with more than 10,000 unique patients, revealed numerous challenges...
Black and Hispanic children are facing higher risk of COVID-19 says Schaffner
Aug. 12, 2020—The CDC in a recent report found that nearly three-quarters of the children with COVID-19 were either Hispanic or Black. In the report, of the 576 children hospitalized for the virus across 14 states including Tennessee found more than 240 (45.8%) were Hispanic, 156 (29.7%) African American and 74 (14.1%) White, 24 (4.6%) were non-Hispanic Asian...
Hartert collects DIY COVID-19 tests from kids and partners for coronavirus science
Aug. 10, 2020—In a comfy suburb just outside Nashville, a young family swabs their noses twice a month in a DIY study seeking answers to some of the most vexing questions about the coronavirus. How many U.S. children and teens are infected? How many kids who are infected show no symptoms? How likely are they to spread...
Schaffner and Creech discuss new COVID-19 vaccine research
Aug. 10, 2020—It’s well known a variety of vaccine types can fight a virus. But which is most effecting at fighting Covid-19? Prior to development, researchers had to understand how this novel coronavirus worked. “The essential part of the virus is something called the spike protein. That’s the little thing that sticks out of the surface of...
Medicare Part D favors generic drugs over brand-name counterparts says Dusetzina
Aug. 6, 2020—Contrary to previous media reports, a new study led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers finds that Medicare Part D prescription drug insurance plans largely favor generic drugs over brand-name counterparts. Published this week in Health Affairs, the study led by Stacie Dusetzina, PhD, Ingram Associate Professor of Cancer Research and associate professor of Health...
Patrick receives award for children’s health research
Aug. 6, 2020—Stephen Patrick, MD, MPH, MS, director of the Vanderbilt Center for Child Health Policy, has been awarded the fifth annual Gale and Ira Drukier Prize in Children’s Health Research. Patrick, a neonatologist at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and associate professor of Pediatrics and Health Policy, received the recognition for his work on...
Shah leads study on stomach cancer risks among ethnic groups
Aug. 6, 2020—Non-white Americans, especially Asian Americans, are at disproportionately higher risk for gastric cancer compared to non-Hispanic white Americans. A new study breaks down this risk according to specific ethnicities and locations within the stomach. The study published Aug. 6 in Gastroenterology analyzed California Cancer Registry data for the seven largest Asian American populations (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino,...
Multiple COVID-19 vaccines may be available says Schaffner
Aug. 6, 2020—More good news in the pursuit of a COVID-19 vaccine: A fifth vaccine developer has released promising results from a small, early trial. Novavax Inc., of Gaithersburg, Maryland, released the results via a news release and call with media late Tuesday, showing the vaccine appeared safe and elicited a similar immune response to an active infection with...
Edwards warns that COVID-19 vaccines cannot be compared
Aug. 6, 2020—A potential Covid-19 vaccine from the biotech company Novavax showed a promising immune response in a small, early trial, but not without a high rate of mostly mild side effects. The results, published Tuesday, are the latest encouraging sign in the global effort to develop a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, which has killed nearly...
Hartert expresses concerns about children returning to school during pandemic
Aug. 3, 2020—A prominent Nashville doctor is raising concerns highlighted in a new study about kids and COVID-19. The study reveals how kids may spread the disease even easier than adults. The study released Thursday in the journal “Pediatrics” from the American Medical Association says, when compared to adults, young children infected with COVID-19 had between 10 and 100...
COVID-19 vaccine will be similar to the flu vaccine says Neuzil
Aug. 3, 2020—Under recently released federal guidelines, a COVID-19 vaccine can be authorized for use if it is safe and proves effective in as few as 50% of those who receive it. And “effective” doesn’t necessarily mean stopping people from getting sick from COVID-19. It means minimizing its most serious symptoms, experts say. “We should anticipate the...
ABC News talks to Schaffner about COVID-19 immunity
Aug. 3, 2020—Researchers are now trying to understand why certain people, particularly children, can be exposed to the virus and develop mild to no symptoms at all. A new study from the United Kingdom suggests that if a significant percentage of the population is immune to the virus, we may be able to achieve herd immunity sooner than we...
Announcing Christianne Roumie as the next MPH Program Director
Jul. 31, 2020—Message from the Chair of the Department of Health Policy Announcing Christianne Roumie as the next MPH Program Director I am delighted to announce that, after a national search, Christianne Roumie, MD, MPH, has been selected as the next Director of Vanderbilt’s Master of Public Health degree program, effective August 2020. Dr. Roumie already has a long...
Schaffner discusses race and COVID-19 vaccine distribution
Jul. 31, 2020—As Oxford University’s vaccine entered its final trial phase, and experts noted that the vaccine could appear before the end of the year. “In the past, the ACPI has been very careful not to make ethnic or racial recommendations for vaccine use,” says William Schaffner, professor of medicine in the health policy division at Vanderbilt...
Isaacs creates a comprehensive care model for Tourette Syndrome
Jul. 31, 2020—Affecting as many as 300,000 children (around one in 160) in the United States, Tourette syndrome nevertheless tends to fall under the health care system’s radar. The condition is often underrecognized and can be complicated by anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depression. At Vanderbilt University Medical Center, David Isaacs, M.D., M.P.H., an adult...
Health of families deteriorating under COVID-19 stress says Patrick
Jul. 31, 2020—The ongoing disruptive changes from efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 are having a substantial negative impact on the physical and mental well-being of parents and their children across the country, according to a new national survey published today in Pediatrics. “COVID-19 and measures to control its spread have had a substantial effect on the...
COVID-19 vaccine may cause mild side effects says Edwards
Jul. 31, 2020—While the world awaits the results of large clinical trials of Covid-19 vaccines, experts say the data so far suggest one important possibility: The vaccines may carry a bit of a kick. In vaccine parlance, they appear to be “reactogenic,” meaning they have induced short-term discomfort in a percentage of the people who have received them in...
CNN talks to Schaffner about COVID-19 prevention
Jul. 31, 2020—Hand sanitizers “need to have at least 60% alcohol in them,” said Dr. William Schaffner, professor of preventative medicine and infectious disease at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. And don’t just put a little dollop in your hand and smear it around quickly. “You’ve got to use enough and get it all over the surfaces,”...
COVID-19 recovery can take a few weeks says Self
Jul. 30, 2020—Recovering from even mild coronavirus infections can take at least two to three weeks, according to U.S. research published Friday. The results are somewhat surprising, since with flu and many other viral infections, most patients recover completely within two weeks, said Dr. Wesley Self of Vanderbilt University. He leads a network of 14 medical centers...
NBC News talks with Patrick about in-person learning during COVID-19
Jul. 30, 2020—There’s no question that in-person learning is important to the growth and development of children. The question is how to do so safely. “Parents across the country and kids across the country are in distress,” said Dr. Stephen Patrick, the study’s author and director of the Vanderbilt Center for Child Health Policy in Nashville, Tennessee.
Wilkins discusses healthy equity during COVID-19 vaccine trial
Jul. 30, 2020—The unprecedented scientific quest to end the pandemic with a vaccine now faces one of its most crucial tests, and nothing less than the success of the entire endeavor is at stake. A vaccine must work for everyone — young and old; black, brown and white. To prove that it does, many of the 30,000 volunteers for...
Hartert leads study to track COVID-19 transmission between children
Jul. 24, 2020—Every year, children are a major driver of transmission for the viruses that cause the flu and the common cold. So this March, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States, Tina Hartert of the Vanderbilt School of Medicine expected the same to be true for the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. But months later, Hartert and...
Creech discusses COVID-19 antibodies
Jul. 23, 2020—New research suggests that antibodies the immune system makes to fight the new coronavirus may only last a few months in people with mild illness, but that doesn’t mean protection also is gone or that it won’t be possible to develop an effective vaccine. “Infection with this coronavirus does not necessarily generate lifetime immunity,” but...
NBC News talks to Schaffner about COVID-19 vaccine trial results
Jul. 23, 2020—A coronavirus vaccine being developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca is safe and shows signs of inducing an immune response, according to early clinical trial results published Monday in the medical journal The Lancet. It is “good news — another step forward on the long road” to having a COVID-19 vaccine, Dr. William Schaffner,...
Graves comments on TN COVID-19 hospitalizations
Jul. 21, 2020—Tennessee hit another milestone this week with the number of people currently in the hospital with COVID-19. Vanderbilt researchers said there are currently open hospital beds, but that could change as if the upward trend continues. “And so the concern is that if we continue to see increases in the number of COVID patients, that...
VUMC recruits volunteers for COVID-19 vaccine trial led by Creech
Jul. 16, 2020—In late July, Vanderbilt University Medical Center will begin recruiting up to 1,000 volunteers in a late-stage study of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine developed by Moderna Inc. in collaboration with the Vaccine Research Center of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health. The randomized, placebo-controlled phase 3...
Self studies investigational glaucoma drug in COVID-19 patients
Jul. 16, 2020—Vanderbilt University Medical Center is evaluating razuprotafib, a drug being investigated for the treatment of glaucoma, in a new randomized, investigational trial for the prevention and treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in adult patients with moderate to severe COVID-19. “We urgently need to find effective treatments for COVID-19, especially for patients who develop...
MPH alumna works to fill COVID information gaps for web users
Jul. 16, 2020—For the world’s web users, Vanderbilt University Medical Center is working with Google to address COVID-19 information gaps. In April, Google Health began testing Question Hub in the U.S., beginning with unanswered questions about COVID-19. Becky Jerome, MLIS, MPH, a research services consultant at VICTR, worked on the project with Bernard, Jill Pulley, MBA, VICTR’s...
Stubblefield looks at COVID symptoms among health care workers
Jul. 15, 2020—Among 249 front-line health care workers who cared for COVID-19 patients during the first month of the pandemic in Tennessee, 8% tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies by serology testing, suggesting they had contracted COVID-19 in the first several weeks of taking care of COVID-19 patients. Among these health care workers with positive serology results, 42%...
As the school year approaches, Creech and Edwards examine risks
Jul. 13, 2020—In the U.S., children make up about 22 percent of the population, but kids account for only 2 percent of coronavirus cases so far, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s not yet known what accounts for that disparity, said Dr. C. Buddy Creech, an associate professor of pediatrics at Vanderbilt University...
CNN talks to Schaffner about travel concerns during COVID-19
Jul. 13, 2020—With airlines introducing new measures like face masks and intensive sanitization routines to reassure passengers, people have been cautiously returning to air travel even while the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread around the world. Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University, tells CNN he does not currently advocate traveling by airplane, particularly in the...
Neuzil shares her insights on path to COVID-19 vaccine
Jul. 10, 2020—Members of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) Working Group, which includes Kathleen Neuzil, MD, MPH, DTPH, the Myron M. Levine, MD, DTPH Professor in Vaccinology and director of the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health (CVD) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), assessed the practical considerations and prerequisites...
Talbot and Schaffner discuss wearing a mask in public
Jul. 7, 2020—Dr. William Schaffner and Dr. Tom Talbot discuss why wearing a mask in public can reduce the risk of spreading COVID 19.
Schaffner comments on contact tracking concerns in TN
Jul. 6, 2020—Tennessee reopens and people shop, eat out, and enjoy summer activities protecting against possible COVID-19 exposure is not so obvious said infectious disease doctor, William Schaffner. “There are people who have no symptoms what so ever who are capable of transmitting this virus,” explained Dr. Schaffner, “So contact tracing is very very important.”
Grijalva examines coronavirus transmission within households
Jul. 2, 2020—Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators are leading a new study that examines the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, within households in Nashville. The study funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) aims to understand how fast the infections spread within households and the factors that may be associated with...
Vanderbilt named to key role to streamline COVID-19 research response
Jun. 25, 2020—Vanderbilt MPH Program alumnus Wesley H. Self, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of Emergency Medicine, is among those involved in the Administrative Coordinating Center (ACC) of a national effort to streamline the research response to life-threatening lung and heart problems caused by COVID-19. The Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (VICTR) and RTI International, a non-profit clinical research...
Major U.S. trial closes showing no benefit for hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19
Jun. 25, 2020—Vanderbilt MPH Program alumnus Wesley H. Self, M.D.,M.P.H., is a lead investigator on the Outcomes Related to COVID-19 Treated with Hydroxychloroquine among In-patients with Symptomatic Disease (ORCHID) trial, which stopped enrolling new patients based on the fourth scheduled interim analysis showing no evidence of benefit or harm. “We rapidly conducted a high-quality study to understand...
Clayton receives grant to expand LGBTQ voices in biomedical research
Jun. 25, 2020—Vanderbilt MPH Program faculty member Ellen W. Clayton, M.D., J.D., the Craig-Weaver Professor of Pediatrics, was recently awarded a grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) of the National Institutes for Health (NIH) to explore LGBTQ+ perspectives on a range of issues related to biomedical research. Dr. Clayton is the study’s principal investigator and director...
Tsosie offers insights on Indigenous science and research
Jun. 22, 2020—The power and enduring knowledge of Indigenous science have long been muted in modern science despite its validity. In a first, the journal Human Biology has published a special issue dedicated to Indigenous science. Guest co-edited by Krystal Tsosie, a Diné (Navajo) Ph.D. student studying genomics and health disparities, the issue includes perspectives written, edited and peer-reviewed by Indigenous...
Grome receive awards at Research Forum
Jun. 18, 2020—Heather Grome, M.D., M.P.H., a third-year infectious disease fellow who is pursuing a master’s degree in Public Health, won the 2020 Elliot V. Newman Prize for best abstract, “Association of STI Diagnosis with Incident HIV in a Southern Statewide Cohort.”
Schaffner comments on CDC tips for minimizing COVID-19 rise
Jun. 17, 2020—The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted the guidelines Friday, along with a second set for organizing and attending big gatherings such as concerts, sporting events, protests and political rallies. “My empathy goes out to the CDC. It’s very, very difficult to have a precise answer for every circumstance,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University infectious...
COVID-19 hospitalizations increase in TN
Jun. 16, 2020—The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients reached its highest level to date on June 15, when more than 400 patients were hospitalized across Tennessee, according to a report from researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “The recent rise in hospitalizations is not a simple story, and is a story...
A second wave of COVID-19 in the U.S. has begun warns Schaffner
Jun. 15, 2020—A second wave of coronavirus has started in the U.S. — and people need to remain careful or risk stressing out the health-care system again, said William Schaffner, a professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “The second wave has begun,” said the professor of medicine told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Monday. “We’re opening up across the country, but many, many people are not...
In Washington Post, Neuzil comments on challenge trials for COVID-19 vaccine
Jun. 15, 2020—Kathleen Neuzil, director of the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, is experienced running challenge trials involving potential vaccines for diseases that have treatments. “We’ve done them for malaria, influenza, shigella. What makes me personally cautious about doing them for SARS-CoV-2 is, at the moment, we...
Opioid prescriptions after childbirth linked to increased risk of overdose, persistent use
Jun. 12, 2020—MPH graduate and faculty member Carlos G. Grijalva, MD, MPH, associate professor of Health Policy, is a senior investigator for a study that found that women who are prescribed opioids after childbirth have an increased risk of persistent opioid use or other serious opioid-related events, including overdose, in their first year postpartum. This is true regardless of whether...
VIGH awarded $3 million for building research capacity in Nigeria and Mozambique
Jun. 12, 2020—Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health (VIGH) has received a new research training grant and a renewal for an existing training program from the Fogarty International Center (FIC) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to build HIV-focused research capacity with key partners in Nigeria and Mozambique. Vanderbilt MPH Program faculty members Muktar Aliyu, MD, DrPH, professor...
Schaffner comments on new WHO face mask guidelines
Jun. 9, 2020—The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday announced changes to its guidelines on who should wear a mask during the Covid-19 pandemic and where they should wear it. The new guidance recommends that the general public wear cloth masks made from at least three layers of fabric “on public transport, in shops, or in other confined or crowded environments.”...
The COVID-19 vaccine could consist of two shots says Edwards
Jun. 8, 2020—A vaccine against the coronavirus may not be as simple as one jab and you’re immune. There’s a high likelihood an eventual vaccine will require a two-dose series, a month or so apart, with the possibility of a booster several years later, adding to the complexity and cost of administration and distribution. “The MERS serology data suggest that...
Stevenson discusses the shrinking nursing home population
Jun. 8, 2020—The coronavirus pandemic dealt a crushing blow to nursing homes across the U.S., driving down their occupancy by nearly 100,000 residents between the end of 2019 and late May, according to new federal data. The data gives the public its first broad look into individual nursing homes and sheds new light on the scale of...
Researchers face challenges about how kids spread COVID-19 says Edwards
Jun. 3, 2020—As states reopen, the coming months bring the prospect of gatherings at pools, playgrounds and even amusement parks. But in this summer of COVID-19, many parents are left wondering what their kids can safely do. There isn’t a satisfactory answer, because there’s still so much unknown about the coronavirus in regards to children. While studies...
Dusetzina: Drug price hikes outpace Medicare Part D improvements
Jun. 3, 2020—Annual price increases for specialty rheumatology drugs are outpacing savings gained from the closure of the Medicare Part D coverage gap (the “donut hole”) – according to an analysis published in JAMA Open by a pair of researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The researchers found that when the coverage gap began closing (between 2010 and 2011),...
NAS trend stabilized says Leech
Jun. 3, 2020—A new analysis out of Vanderbilt University Medical Center found rates of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) increased five-and-a-half fold between 2004 and 2016, but have remained steady since 2014. The data were published in Health Affairs. “Evidence is beginning to show that we’re holding down the rising trend in NAS,” said first author Ashley Leech, Ph.D., an...
MPH Alumni discuss Kawasaki Disease
Jun. 3, 2020—In mid-May, the CDC established a case definition for a new illness linked to COVID-19, referred to as PMIS (pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome) or MIS-C (multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children). From the onset, reports of PMIS noted that it resembles Kawasaki disease, a rare acute vasculitis that primarily affects children under five years-of-age. “About four weeks after their...
Schaffner comments on the spread of COVID-19 in mass gatherings
Jun. 2, 2020—Protests erupting across the nation over the past week — and law enforcement’s response to them — are threatening to upend efforts by health officials to track and contain the spread of coronavirus just as those efforts were finally getting underway. It’s unclear if the protests themselves will trigger large new outbreaks. The protests were outside, where infections...
New TN economic activity COVID-19 modeling report released by Graves
Jun. 2, 2020—Tennesseans didn’t wait for an order from the state to start avoiding exposure to COVID-19 and they haven’t rushed back out since the lifting of safer-at-home orders – especially in metro areas. “Once the virus becomes entrenched in a community, it has this economic contagion as well,” said John Graves, director of Vanderbilt’s Center for...
WSJ talks to Stevenson about nursing-home finances during COVID-19
Jun. 1, 2020—The biggest U.S. nursing-home company said its operations are being pressured by fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, pointing to a sharp drop in occupancy and rising expenses that are rippling through the entire elder-care sector. Genesis Healthcare Inc. said in an earnings call Wednesday that it had seen cases of Covid-19, the coronavirus illness, in 187 of...
Asymptomatic COVID-19 cases are common says Schaffner
Jun. 1, 2020—New estimates of the number of asymptomatic people with the coronavirus suggest that “silent” COVID-19 is much more prevalent than once thought, according to two studies published Wednesday. “Many people still haven’t grasped the notion that asymptomatic people can be so common, and they wonder why it is they have to wear the mask when...
Patel and Nordness to test cognitive rehab therapy for ICU survivors
May. 28, 2020—Vanderbilt University Medical Center will study adult survivors of medical and surgical intensive care at high risk for long-term cognitive impairment to see if computerized cognitive rehabilitation (CCR) is effective in improving cognition in ICU survivors who often have trouble doing complex tasks, maintaining their finances and staying employed. MPH alumnus Mayur Patel, M.D., M.P.H., associate...
McGinnis: Caring for orphans during COVID-19
May. 22, 2020—Katie McGinnis is the director of psychosocial service for Family Legacy, a large nonprofit that serves 15,000 orphaned and vulnerable children in Zambia. Her team is providing developmentally appropriate COVID-19 disease education resources and have even left their own families to move into the residential care facility for the duration of their lockdown (at least three...
Buntin comments on COVID-19 and early health system supplies data
May. 22, 2020—Some 1.5 million people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the U.S., and about 352,000 of those patients were in the state of New York. Researchers with the Northwell Health system, which has provided care for more than 20% of COVID-19 patients in the state, have helped physicians learn who these patients are. “The findings...
Schaffner comments on COVID-19 vaccine concerns
May. 22, 2020—A quarter of Americans have little or no interest in taking a coronavirus vaccine, a Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Thursday found, with some voicing concern that the record pace at which vaccine candidates are being developed could compromise safety. Less than two-thirds of respondents said they were “very” or “somewhat” interested in a vaccine, a...
Patrick: Opioid use treatment less likely for women in criminal justice system
May. 20, 2020—Pregnant women involved in the criminal justice system are disproportionately not receiving medications for opioid use disorder, as compared to their peers, according to a Vanderbilt-led study published today in PLOS Medicine. “Medications for opioid use disorder save lives and improve pregnancy outcomes, but many pregnant women are not getting them,” said senior author Stephen Patrick,...
USA Today talks to Schaffner about COVID-19 vaccine data
May. 20, 2020—There is positive news from two COVID-19 vaccine candidates considered frontrunners, from Moderna in the US and Oxford in the United Kingdom. But experts cautioned that both represent only early, though useful, steps on a long road rather than definitive proof these vaccines will work. “This is a step along the way. It’s a ‘so far,...
Schaffner discusses reopening universities during pandemic
May. 20, 2020—With all the focus on when colleges reopen, how they will do so has gotten less attention. “Testing on a really large scale is starting to become available in this country,” said William Schaffner, a professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University. “This does not mean that the institution has to do its own tests or...
Edwards comments on COVID-19 vaccine trial
May. 18, 2020—“We need to know that it protects the animal or the human from the infection,” said Dr. Kathryn Edwards, who directs vaccine research at Vanderbilt University. “And just having the antibody, if it doesn’t work to prevent disease, it’s not going to cut it.” The vaccine used in the study is being developed by Oxford University....
Individual behavior matters most for COVID-19 risk says Schaffner
May. 18, 2020—As states in the US start to loosen shelter-in-place orders and the weather warms up, people are flocking to beaches and parks. That outdoor time is likely low-risk, according to some preliminary evidence, as long as you’re on your own or with the members of your household — and far from everyone else. “This virus...
Newborn opioid withdrawal rates show evidence of stabilizing says Leech
May. 15, 2020—Rates of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) have plateaued after 20 years of increasing frequency across the country, according to a new study published in Health Affairs. NAS is a withdrawal syndrome experienced by some opioid-exposed newborns after birth. The National Institutes of Health-funded study led by Ashley Leech, PhD, assistant professor of Health Policy at Vanderbilt...
Despite COVID-19, Trauma Centers see no end to violence says Rogers
May. 15, 2020—On an early March day at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the emergency room at the University of Chicago Medical Center teemed with patients. But many weren’t there because of the coronavirus. They were there because they’d been shot. “The visible virus of violence continues unabated,” said trauma chief Dr. Selwyn Rogers Jr.
Hartert to determine rate of COVID-19 in U.S. children
May. 14, 2020—Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center are leading a nationwide study to determine the rate of novel coronavirus infection in U.S. children and their families. The study, named the HEROS (Human Epidemiology and Response to SARS-CoV-2) study and funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), aims to gain insight into how...
Creech comments on COVID-19 pediatric cases
May. 13, 2020—As reports of soaring cases of the coronavirus — first in China, then Italy — first reached the United States, there appeared to be a silver lining: children seemed to be spared from the illness. “We cautiously take comfort in the data available so far that children are less severely affected from COVID-19,” said Dr....
USA Today discusses reopening society with Schaffner
May. 13, 2020—Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine in the Department of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University who won’t be testifying at the hearing, said the keys to reopening society are to adapt to new behaviors to prevent the spread of disease, such as wearing masks, keeping six feet apart and washing hands regularly. Testing and...
Immunizations are critical to maintain during COVID-19 says Edwards
May. 12, 2020—Routine vaccination of children in the United States appeared to have declined dramatically in March and April, in the weeks after Covid-19 was declared a pandemic and the United States government declared a national emergency, a new study published Friday shows. Pediatricians in particular have been concerned that children may be missing critical vaccinations, which the new...
Schaffner urges caution as COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders end
May. 12, 2020—Once shelter-in-place orders lift, you can ~technically~ start to see friends and family again, “but you ought to be doing it very cautiously,” recommends William Schaffner, MD, an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. It’s not like COVID-19 magically disappeared because politicians decided it’s okay for you to go...
Banerdt receives national Excellence in Public Health Service Award
May. 7, 2020—Justin Banerdt, M.D., M.P.H., received the 2020 Excellence in Public Health Award from the United States Public Health Service Physician Professional Advisory Committee in recognition of his commitment to expanding access to care for underserved populations across resource-restricted settings worldwide.
Buntin discusses COVID-19 models
May. 6, 2020—The same day Nashville released a four-part plan for reopening the economy, health officials on April 23 also announced 182 new confirmed cases — the largest one-day spike since the COVID-19 outbreak began. Vanderbilt University Medical School Department of Health Policy Chair Melinda Buntin said Monday the isolated outbreaks make modeling “very tricky.” “However, I hesitate to call...
Hartert comments on NIH COVID-10 Study
May. 6, 2020—The six-month study backed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, seeks to understand how many children have had COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, and what share of infected children show symptoms. Early research indicates that in the U.S., just a fraction of COVID-19 patients are children,...
The Washington Post gets an COVID-19 vaccine update from Edwards
May. 6, 2020—With at least 115 vaccine projects at companies and research labs, the science is hurtling forward so fast and bending so many rules about how the process usually works that even veteran vaccine developers do not know what to expect. “We really have never made those kinds of vaccines in large, large quantities. How quickly can that...
Wilson discusses the mental health crisis among medical providers
May. 6, 2020—Little formal research has been done to quantify the psychological outcomes of Covid-19 among healthcare providers. Last month, in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), a study reported on a cohort of nearly 1300 healthcare workers involved in the management of patients in 34 hospitals across China. 71% of respondents reported general psychological distress, and half endorsed...
Hatch leads unplanned extubations in preterm infants study
May. 6, 2020—Unplanned extubations (UEs) in adult and pediatric populations have long been associated with poor clinical outcomes and increased costs to health care systems. A very common adverse event in intensive care unit settings, the long-term outcomes of (UEs) in critically ill, preterm infants have never been studied until now. In a retrospective matched cohort study,...
Schaffner: Remdesivir is a first step for a Covid-19 treatment
May. 2, 2020—Dr. William Schaffner, Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, tells Lawrence O’Donnell that “the journey is still long” to finding a cure for Covid-19, but remdesivir is the first drug showing promising results for treating the virus.
NBC News discusses pediatric COVID-19 cases with Creech
May. 1, 2020—Ultimately, COVID-19 remains uncommon in children; just 2 percent of kids tested for the coronavirus in the U.S. are positive. By far, most COVID-19 cases — especially the most severe cases — have been among adults. Pediatric infectious disease specialists stress complications from the coronavirus are rare in children, a trend that’s been observed in...
Neuzil: Testing Possible Therapy to Prevent COVID-19
Apr. 30, 2020—Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have begun testing the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine as a therapy to prevent infection and symptoms in individuals who have been exposed to COVID-19-positive individuals. The trial is significant because it focuses on preventing COVID-19 and does not involve individuals who are ill with infection but rather healthy individuals who...
COVID-19 particles could linger in small spaces says Schaffner
Apr. 30, 2020—Scientists agree that the virus, which has infected nearly 2 million people worldwide, is primarily transmitted through droplets — particles larger than 5 micrometers — when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or speaks. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University, told Business Insider that coronavirus particles could also potentially...
MPH alumna oversees TN COVID-19 contact tracing efforts
Apr. 27, 2020—The extensive process of contact tracing has become a seven-day-a-week mission for Tennessee Department of Health epidemiologists like Mugdha Golwalkar and Kailey Lewis, who are overseeing statewide efforts to build a network, outrunning the virus through communication and information. “Both of us are involved in the outbreak world,” said Lewis, a 32-year-old native of Milwaukee, “but the scale...
NYT talks to Schaffner about COVID-19 and the year ahead
Apr. 21, 2020—The coronavirus is spreading from America’s biggest cities to its suburbs, and has begun encroaching on the nation’s rural regions. The virus is believed to have infected millions of citizens and has killed more than 34,000. “My optimistic side says the virus will ease off in the summer and a vaccine will arrive like the cavalry,”...
Schaffner discusses reopening the economy with The Washington Post
Apr. 21, 2020—How — and when — we can resume our comfortable past routines is rife with uncertainty because public health officials still have no idea how many people in the country are infected with the novel coronavirus, including those who may be asymptomatic and unknowingly spreading the virus to others. “We will have to reopen, but not...
Griffin to receive VUSM Excellence in Teaching Award
Apr. 20, 2020—Vanderbilt University School of Medicine has announced the 2020 faculty awards for Excellence in Teaching, Outstanding Contributions to Research and Extraordinary Performance of Clinical Service. Recipient of the ELAINE SANDERS-BUSH AWARD for Mentoring Graduate and/or Medical Students in the Research Setting: Marie Griffin, MD, MPH, professor of Health Policy and Medicine and holder of the...
Shyr awarded $9 million to study extracellular RNA in colorectal cancer
Apr. 17, 2020—A multidisciplinary team of investigators at Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center has received a program project grant from the National Cancer Institute to explore extracellular RNA in colorectal cancer. The five-year, $9 million award will support multiple projects that aim to define fundamental biological principles about extracellular RNA signaling and the development and...
Self-care crucial for providers during pandemic says McKernan
Apr. 17, 2020—High levels of stress and anxiety can be debilitating, especially for health care providers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. But there are ways they can protect themselves and their ability to provide the best and most compassionate care. That was the message delivered by Vanderbilt University Medical Center mental health professionals during...
Cooper led study named as JAMA Surgery’s top paper
Apr. 16, 2020—The world’s No.1 ranked surgery journal, JAMA Surgery, has announced that a June 2019 study led by researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center was the journal’s top paper of the year as measured by Altmetric Attention Score. The study, “Association of Coworker Reports About Unprofessional Behavior by Surgeons with Surgical Complications in Their Patients,” was also the second-most viewed...
Protecting Emergency Department providers during COVID-19 with Rosenbloom
Apr. 16, 2020—Policy changes related to telemedicine that were quickly implemented during the novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) have created opportunities for technology-based clinical evaluation, which serves to protect patients and providers alike, while conserving personal protective equipment (PPE). What does this shift in policy mean for Emergency Department (ED) medical providers who are governed by the Emergency...
Livermont working front lines of COVID-19 for Native Americans
Apr. 15, 2020—Tamee Livermont, a master of public health student and citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation in South Dakota, started a job as a public health liaison even before completing her studies at Vanderbilt. She was eager to impact policy to improve Native American health care. But just a week into her position with the Great Plains Tribal...
Self launches study to test new treatments for COVID-19
Apr. 15, 2020—Faced with a global pandemic of a virus previously unknown to humans, Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is leading a clinical trial to understand if hydroxychloroquine, a well-known drug used for malaria and rheumatologic conditions, is safe and effective in treating hospitalized adults with COVID-19. The ORCHID trial (Outcomes Related to COVID-19 treated with Hydroxychloroquine...
COVID-19 predictive model for Tennessee developed by Vanderbilt team
Apr. 15, 2020—A team including health economists, epidemiologists and a biostatistician at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt University are amassing and processing data to develop a complex predictive model of the spread of COVID-19 within Tennessee, with region-specific projections, as well as a model of projected resource use during response to the pandemic. “We’ve got a...
Katz awarded LEAP Fellowship to improve antibiotic use in Tennessee
Apr. 14, 2020—Sophie Katz, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, has been awarded a Leadership in Epidemiology, Antimicrobial Stewardship, and Public Health (LEAP) Fellowship. She is one of four early career infectious diseases physicians in the United States to receive the award, which provides $100,000 of funding support from the Centers for Disease Control and...
Engineers team up with MPH alumna to create open-source ventilator design
Apr. 14, 2020—As COVID-19 continues to push unprecedented challenges on medical communities, one of the most pressing threats for hospital staff across the country is a dwindling supply of ventilators. Now, an interdisciplinary team of Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center faculty is taking on the challenge by way of a fabricated, open-source ventilator design. Led...
COVID-19 patients on ventilators longer than others says Schaffner
Apr. 13, 2020—As health officials around the world push to get more ventilators to treat coronavirus patients, some doctors are moving away from using the breathing machines when they can. The reason: Some hospitals have reported unusually high death rates for coronavirus patients on ventilators, and some doctors worry that the machines could be harming certain patients....
Edwards comments on the COVID-19 vaccine race with over 40 candidates
Apr. 13, 2020—As COVID-19 continues to spread across the nation, the race for a vaccine is underway. “There are over 40 different vaccine candidates that are on the books that are beginning to be studied,” said Dr. Kathryn Edwards, who is a professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “What we want to do, if...
ABC News talks to Schaffner about why it’s smart to wear a mask
Apr. 7, 2020—Following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new recommendation that Americans wear cloth face masks in public, especially in areas with significant COVID-19 spread, many are asking which materials offer the best protection against the virus. Americans can use “cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost,” the CDC...
Neuzil discusses the COVID-19 vaccine race
Apr. 7, 2020—As Americans retreat under orders to stay-at-home and stay socially distant, it’s hard to think too far in the future. But there’s one group of medical experts who are firmly focused on what is to come: Vaccine researchers. Most public officials have made clear not to expect a vaccine in the next few months. Even...
MPH alumna works to implement screening for gastric cancer
Apr. 5, 2020—A Vanderbilt gastroenterologist is helping lead an effort to establish screening guidelines for gastric cancer in the United States, where the number of people at risk for the cancer is increasing as the nation’s population becomes more diverse. Worldwide, gastric cancer is the fifth most common cancer and third leading cause of cancer-related death. In...
Schaffner comments on the effectiveness of ‘fever tracking’
Apr. 1, 2020—The concept is simple, yet elegant: Use fever readings from thermometers to create a database that can show public health officials whether social distancing is curbing the spread of coronavirus. “I’m very impressed by this,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a preventive medicine expert at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. “It looks like a way to...
Neuzil: COVID-19 vaccine timelines are unprecedented
Mar. 31, 2020—Dr. Kathleen Neuzil, University of Maryland School of Medicine, discusses the clinical trials of a coronavirus vaccine and why frequent testing is needed. She speaks with Bloomberg’s David Westin on “Bloomberg: Balance of Power.”
COVID-19 management can improve with widespread testing says Schaffner
Mar. 31, 2020—Widespread testing serves both the broader public as well as patient care, said William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University. Early testing can improve monitoring, especially for those at risk such as older people or those with compromised immune systems, he said. “When people present themselves for health care, it’s good to know...
Dupont’s study reveals an inherited origin of prostate cancer in families
Mar. 26, 2020—Vanderbilt researchers have identified haplotypes, ancestral fragments of DNA, that are associated with hereditary prostate cancer (HPC) in a first-of-its-kind genomic study made possible by the study of prostate cancer patients with family histories of the disease. The study, published March 23 in Nature Communications, explains roughly 9% of prostate cancer heritability. One mutation increased risk...
Meat associated with increased risk of SSPs finds Shrubsole
Mar. 26, 2020—Research professor of medicine Martha Shrubsole, Ph.D., and colleagues at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have published the first study to evaluate intakes of meat, cooking methods and meat mutagens and risk of developing sessile serrated polyps (SSPs, also called sessile serrated lesions). Shrubsole previously reported that consuming high levels of red meat increased the risk of developing all types of...
Diamond: A First in Youth Sports Safety Ratings
Mar. 26, 2020—Around the country, sports medicine specialists are responding to increased concerns about injury risk in youth sports with heightened focus on proven protocols that enforce safety while encouraging play. In a major step, Tennessee’s general assembly plans to vote on codifying Safe Stars, the first safety rating system in the country for youth sports leagues. Developed by Alex Diamond,...
Schaffner comments on possible blood test for coronavirus immunity
Mar. 26, 2020—As the United States works overtime to screen thousands for the novel coronavirus, a new blood test offers the chance to find out who may have immunity – a potential game changer in the battle to contain infections and get the economy back on track. Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at the...
CNN discusses the US coronavirus lockdown with Edwards
Mar. 26, 2020—CNN interviewed Kathryn Edwards, Sarah H. Sell and Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor in Pediatrics, regarding efforts and recommendations for treating the coronavirus.
On NBC News, Schaffner analyzes challenges NYC faces due to coronavirus
Mar. 25, 2020—With New York in a race against the “bullet train” of the coronavirus sweeping across it, public health experts warned of the challenges ahead to prevent the state from becoming the next Italy. Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases specialist at Vanderbilt University, said there were certainly concerns that New York could become the next Italy, where the...
CNN talks to Schaffner about the coronavirus test shortage
Mar. 23, 2020—If you want to get a test for the novel coronavirus, you’re in good company. Across the United States, physicians are sending the same message: Not everyone who wants a test will get a test. “If we had all the resources in the world and could wave a magic wand, we would be happy to test...
Edwards comments on a coronavirus vaccine
Mar. 23, 2020—President Donald Trump has pledged to “slash red tape like nobody has even done it before” to accelerate the development of a coronavirus vaccine. But his push could backfire if the government moves too fast, according to public health officials and scientists with decades of experience in the field. In some cases, a vaccine that...
New Vanderbilt University Public Health Advisory Task Force includes MPH Leadership
Mar. 23, 2020—Interim Chancellor and Provost Susan R. Wente has established a new Public Health Advisory Task Force to serve as a resource for the university during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Public Health Advisory Task Force members include: Melinda Buntin, Mike Curb Professor of Health Policy and chair of the Department of Health Policy Marie R. Griffin, professor of health policy, professor...
Coronavirus vaccine development is on an accelerated timeline says Neuzil
Mar. 23, 2020—This week has been a tough one for Americans, as the U.S. started to grapple with the full brunt of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. There was one bright spot, however. On Monday, researchers in Seattle injected the very first patients with a possible COVID-19 vaccine. At the Kaiser Permanente Washington Research Institute in Seattle, the first...
Schaffner comments as coronavirus overshadows a deadly flu season
Mar. 23, 2020—The Global Furor over the emerging coronavirus pandemic has masked one of the worst influenza seasons on record, government data show, particularly among children and young adults. With flu season still winding down, at least 144 children younger than 18 have died, a toll topped only by the 2009 H1N1 pandemic since health authorities began tracking flu data in 2004....
Schaffner discusses new disease surveillance technology with the NYT
Mar. 20, 2020—A company that uses internet-connected thermometers to predict the spread of the flu says it is tracking the coronavirus in real time — something that had been impossible, given the lack of testing for the disease. Kinsa Health has sold or given away more than a million smart thermometers to households in which two million people reside,...
Neuzil discusses the severity of the coronavirus in the US with CNBC
Mar. 20, 2020—The new coronavirus could kill millions across the United States, said Dr. Kathleen Neuzil, director of the Center for Vaccine Development at the University of Maryland’s School of Medicine. “It would not surprise me,” she told CNBC on Thursday when asked whether the U.S. could see millions of deaths. “We need to prepare for the worst.”...
NBC News turns to Creech to understand pediatric coronavirus cases
Mar. 19, 2020—The majority of children infected with the coronavirus experience mild to moderate symptoms, although a small percentage have severe complications, according to a study published Monday. The study is important because it makes clear that children are indeed catching the coronavirus, disproving one possibility that experts had considered about why young patients did not seem...
Schaffner: Hand washing is still the best defense against COVID-19
Mar. 18, 2020—Airlines have bumped up their sanitation efforts to stem the virus’ spread, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has posted guidance on aircraft cleaning. While disinfecting is helpful, frequent hand washing is among a traveler’s best defenses, infectious disease experts say. “Even if there is virus in the inanimate environment, it’s not going...
Role of children in transmission of COVID-19 is still unknown says Edwards
Mar. 18, 2020—While some things about the new coronavirus are known — such as the risk it poses to older adults — other things remain a mystery, including whether children who have the virus but aren’t showing symptoms are helping to fuel the spread. Some pediatric experts are urging parents to keep even seemingly healthy kids away...
Clayton discusses the lack of individual genetic data consent
Mar. 17, 2020—More than half of Americans want money and control when companies or organizations use their genetic data, a new study suggests. Public views about the value of DNA continue to evolve, especially as people become more concerned about privacy, the study authors write in PLoS ONE. “It is striking how much control people want to...
Schaffner talks to the NYT about how individuals can minimize risk of exposure to COVID-19
Mar. 16, 2020—The new coronavirus is a serious threat to the elderly, as federal officials have been at pains to note recently. But they have stepped gingerly around advice for another group of Americans also at special risk from the infection: those with chronic health conditions. “All you folks older than 60 and those who have underlying...
Grijalva to be inducted into American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI)
Mar. 13, 2020—Vanderbilt University School of Medicine faculty are among 80 physician-scientists who will be inducted this year into the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), an elite honor society of physician-scientists from the upper ranks of academic medicine and industry. Carlos Grijalva, MD, MPH, associate professor of Health Policy, and program director of the Vanderbilt Center...
NYT turns to Schaffner to explain what the coronavirus does to the body
Mar. 12, 2020—As the coronavirus gained a foothold in the United States, thousands of employees from Seattle to Silicon Valley were told to work from home. Public school districts in several states have shut down, universities are moving classes to online only, and even churches are limiting services or prayer meetings. A global health conference in Orlando, Fla., planned...
Neuzil discusses a coronavirus vaccine
Mar. 12, 2020—Two Maryland biotech firms said Tuesday they will join the effort to make a vaccine against the new coronavirus that is sickening people in the state and across the globe. The University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Center for Vaccine Development also is already working on a vaccine for the new virus as part of...
Schaffner discusses U.S. coronavirus testing
Mar. 12, 2020—Italy is implementing radical new measures against COVID-19, and that could soon be the new normal for other countries fighting the virus. But experts say that a number of unique factors in the U.S. — a sluggish approach to testing, and a lack of public healthcare and paid sick days for some workers — are...
Political turmoil over the ACA led to single-payer discussions ten years later says Buntin
Mar. 12, 2020—The political turmoil over the law may have led, at least in part, to the debate over Medicare for All, says Melinda Buntin, chair of the Department of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University. “Ironically, one of the reasons we are having this discussion about single-payer is because the ACA has been so unsettled,” she says,...
Graves: Coronavirus could be a financial burden for many Americans
Mar. 12, 2020—Americans’ health may not be the only thing at stake as the coronavirus continues its unrelenting spread in the U.S. The virus could also prove financially crippling for many individuals. “There are all kinds of pathways for people to be financially affected by this,” said John Graves, an associate professor of health policy at Vanderbilt...
Early mortality rates for coronavirus are likely misleading says Schaffner
Mar. 10, 2020—It’s possible that COVID-19 isn’t as fatal as most people think. And stockpiling hand sanitizer and masks could hurt people who are truly at risk: the elderly and those with weak immune systems. Dr. William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, says our understanding of the...
Creech discusses pediatric coronavirus cases
Mar. 10, 2020—Ten weeks into the Covid-19 epidemic, enough information has emerged to start filling in some of these gaps. Scientists believe the virus that causes the respiratory disease is likely to be transmitted in droplets through coughing. The available data suggests that a single contagious person will infect about 2.2 others, on average. Globally, 3.4 percent of reported...
Older adults should ‘stay at home’ due to coronavirus says Schaffner
Mar. 10, 2020—Amid a coronavirus outbreak in the United States, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is encouraging older people and people with severe chronic medical conditions to “stay at home as much as possible.” This advice is on a CDC website that was posted Thursday, according to a CDC spokeswoman. Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University...
Surprise healthcare costs may add to coronavirus worries says Graves
Mar. 6, 2020—Coronavirus is putting Americans’ physical and financial health at risk. It has the potential to wipe out the savings of some everyday Americans who are struggling to afford medical costs. A trip to the ER or urgent care for coronavirus can set them back by thousands of dollars, to the point of bankruptcy, but avoiding treatment for financial reasons could...
PBS News Hour provides a COVID-19 guide with Schaffner
Mar. 6, 2020—In the weeks since the World Health Organization declared novel coronavirus a global public health emergency, the number of cases linked to COVID-19 jumped tenfold, from nearly 8,000 confirmed cases to more than 90,000 cases. More than 3,000 people have died in more than 60 countries. And while the number of new cases in China —...
NBC News talks to Schaffner about what to do if you think you have the coronavirus
Mar. 4, 2020—With a growing number of cases of the new coronavirus confirmed across the United States, having a sore throat or some sniffles might feel like a cause for concern. But in most cases, there is no reason to worry, experts say. “If you have any anxiety or reason to believe you have coronavirus infection, or heck, even...
Health Policy faculty explain how the ACA dented the health care cost curve
Mar. 3, 2020—A decade after the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, there is evidence that the landmark health legislation has contributed to slower growth U.S. health care spending. An analysis published in the March issue of the journal Health Affairs coincides with the 10-year anniversary of the law’s passage and illustrates how the law...
NYT discusses new U.S. ‘Radical Expansion’ plans of coronavirus testing with Schaffner
Mar. 3, 2020—The F.D.A. announced that it would allow hundreds of labs to test for the virus, while the Trump administration said it was distributing tens of thousands of testing kits. The kits had three components but some of the components were producing an inconclusive result for many public health labs using the test. On Thursday, the...
Graves says that U.S. health care system is not designed to deal with a pandemic
Mar. 3, 2020—One of the best things you can do to fend off the coronavirus is to stay home when you’re sick. Problem is, millions of working Americans don’t get paid sick days. A stunning 70% of low-wage workers and one of three workers in the private sector have no access to paid sick time. All told,...
Neuzil comments on WHO COVID-19 Advisor selection
Mar. 2, 2020—Samba Sow, MD, MSc, FASTMH, director general of the Center for Vaccine Development in Mali (CVD-Mali), and adjunct professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), was appointed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to serve as a special envoy on issues related to coronavirus COVID-19. Sow was named by WHO director-general...
Schaffner answers the public’s questions about the coronavirus with NBC News
Mar. 2, 2020—As concerns grow over the coronavirus outbreak, Americans have important questions about how to keep their families healthy. Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University went to field questions from downtown Nashville.
ABC News talks to Schaffner about how Americans can prepare for the coronavirus
Mar. 2, 2020—The coronavirus, or COVID-19, has infected dozens of Americans and thousands more across the world. While scientists are working to contain the outbreak and come up with effective treatments, health experts say people can still prepare and guard against infection. ABC News spoke with health experts to provide the latest information on how to stay safe as the disease...
Schaffner discusses the public buying masks amid coronavirus fears
Mar. 2, 2020—Panic over the novel coronavirus is hitting a fever pitch in the US. And despite repeated pleas from health officials not to purchase them, Americans can’t stop snatching up masks and respirators. When it comes to hysteria and panic, though, reason takes a backseat. “This is a psychological thing,” Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive...
NBC News talks to Schaffner about the coronavirus mortality rate in Iran
Feb. 28, 2020— Iran has the highest reported number of deaths from the coronavirus outside China, raising questions about how the government is handling the public health crisis and whether the often secretive regime has been fully transparent about the extent of the outbreak. Iran’s health ministry spokesman said on Thursday that 26 Iranians have died out of a total...
Everson and Butler look at hospitals adopting more tech in health information exchange
Feb. 27, 2020—Among 1,917 hospitals across the U.S. from 2014-2016, there was a consistent increase in engagement and adoption of types health information exchange, but no single one of those tools provided high levels of usable, integrated health information. The conclusion comes in a new study published by Jordan Everson, PhD, assistant professor of Health Policy, and Evan Butler,...
The New York Times discusses a coronavirus false-positive with Schaffner
Feb. 26, 2020—Passengers aboard the cruise ship Westerdam who have returned to the United States no longer need to isolate themselves and can resume normal activities, despite the fact that one passenger tested positive for the new coronavirus in Malaysia, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised. A spokesman for the agency said on Saturday...
Schaffner comments on the risk of the coronavirus spreading in high populated areas
Feb. 26, 2020—FOR infectious disease experts, it’s unsurprising that the current coronavirus, which causes the disease named COVID-19, originated in a city. “In cities the potential for infectious diseases to spread is massive, simply because people are so close to each other and have such prolonged face-to-face contact, “says Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases expert at Vanderbilt University....
Buntin named a Nashville Business Journal 2020 Woman of Influence
Feb. 25, 2020—From inspirational leaders to community supporters to top executives, meet the Nashville Business Journal’s 2020 Women of Influence winners. Melinda Buntin, Ph.D. Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Mike Curb professor of health policy and chair, department of health policy Melinda Buntin, Ph.D. is the chair of the Department of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. She previously served...
Schaffner talks to Vox about usual symptoms ahead of coronavirus pandemic
Feb. 24, 2020—During the last two months, as the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak spiraled into a global threat, countries around the world have scrambled to impose travel bans, quarantine millions, and isolate sick people in an attempt to stop the spread of the new virus. This coronavirus is still very new, and we don’t know its entire spectrum of illness...
Creech and Schaffner discuss record-breaking child deaths this year from flu
Feb. 24, 2020—So far this season,105 children have died from the flu, according to data released Friday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is the highest number of child flu deaths at this point in the season since the CDC started keeping records in 2004, except for the 2009 flu pandemic. It has been an...
Patients can spread coronavirus without showing symptoms says Schaffner
Feb. 24, 2020—A 20-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, traveled 400 miles(675 km) north to Anyang where she infected five relatives, without ever showing signs of infection, Chinese scientists reported on Friday, offering new evidence that the virus can be spread asymptomatically. The case study, published in the Journal of the American...
Newsweek discusses the coronavirus with Schaffner
Feb. 21, 2020—COVID-19, a new coronavirus known to cause pneumonia, has infected more than 75,000 people and killed more than 2,000 since it was first identified in humans in December. WHO initially only reported cases that were confirmed by laboratory results, but on Monday, it announced that its future situation reports will also include people who were...
Schaffner comments on this season’s flu vaccine impact
Feb. 21, 2020—Federal health officials say the flu vaccine is proving more effective this season than in some previous seasons, although more deaths and severe illnesses among children have been reported. “The hospitalizations and severe illness among children and adolescents are exactly what these two viruses have a tendency to do,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a professor...
Dusetzina comments on class action lawsuit against drug company for price surge
Feb. 20, 2020—The city of Marietta has filed a class action lawsuit against a drug company after the price of a decades-old medicine went from $40 a vial to more than $39,000. The city, which covers health care costs for employees and their families, says it has already spent more than $2 million on the drug for...
Schaffner expresses the need for international cooperation in the coronavirus outbreak
Feb. 20, 2020—“This could be a turning point” These were the words of Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, when on February 16th an American woman previously abroad the Westerdam cruise ship tested positive for coronavirus. The cruise ship had been denied entry at ports in Taiwan, Japan, Guam, and the Philippines due...
Flu vaccine could be more effective going forward says Schaffner
Feb. 20, 2020—Between 26 million and 36 million people have been stricken with the flu as of Feb. 8, according to the latest CDC data. While early flu activity this season was mostly driven by influenza B/Victoria viruses, flu activity is changing and influenza A/H1N1 is increasing, according to William Schaffner, medical director for the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases....
Schaffner discusses flu and coronavirus symptoms with AP
Feb. 19, 2020—Experts say it is potentially a bad time for an extended flu season, given concerns about the new coronavirus out of China, which can cause symptoms that can be difficult to distinguish from flu without testing. If coronavirus were to begin spreading in the U.S., there could be confusion about whether people are getting sick...
Air pollution and smoking may contribute to the severity coronavirus cases says Schaffner
Feb. 14, 2020—The coronavirus has killed more than 1,300 people, brought a huge swath of central China to a standstill and rattled millions around the globe with hints of a pandemic seen in Hollywood fantasies. But the virus’s destructive potential has overshadowed one encouraging aspect of this outbreak: So far, about 82 percent of the cases —...
McKernan talks to Mashable on texting’s role in suicide prediction
Feb. 14, 2020—Since its founding in 2013, the free mental health support service Crisis Text Line has focused on using data and technology to better aid those who reach out for help. Based on its analysis of 129 million messages processed between 2013 and the end of 2019, the nonprofit found that the pill emoji, or 💊, was 4.4 times more...
Schaffner discusses the COVID-19 breathing zone with NBC News
Feb. 13, 2020—The alarming rate at which the new coronavirus has spread throughout China has raised concerns about how it passes from person to person. Infectious disease experts maintain that the vast majority of COVID-19 cases spread through close contact with an infected person. COVID-19 is the new name for the illness caused by the viral infection. That generally...
Surprise billing prevalent in elective surgeries says Buntin
Feb. 13, 2020—About one-in-five patients undergoing elective surgeries at in-network hospitals is slapped with an out-of-network bill, new research shows. A study published this week in JAMA looked at one large commercial insurer’s claims data on nearly 350,000 adult beneficiaries who underwent elective surgeries for common procedures with in-network surgeons and hospitals between 2012 and 2017. The study found that...
NYT turns to Schaffner to discuss new coronavirus report
Feb. 10, 2020—Reporting on Friday in JAMA, the authors said their data suggested that rapid person-to-person spread of the virus had occurred among their cases. That was in part because of patients like the one admitted to the surgical department, whose symptoms misled doctors into suspecting other illnesses and failing to take precautions to prevent spread of...
USA Today: Schaffner says the coronavirus has the potential to spread around the world
Feb. 10, 2020—Health experts say a newcoronavirus with origins in Wuhan, China, that has already killed hundreds and sickened thousands of people could become a pandemic — an unsettling and often misunderstood term. In the minds of many, the word “pandemic” is closely connected to the 1918 flu pandemic that killed tens of millions of people, Anthony Fauci, director of the National...
Buntin comments on Supreme Court delay in deciding on health care law challenge
Feb. 6, 2020—Instead, the court recently punted on a major decision over whether to kill the 2010 health care law that expanded coverage to more than 20 million Americans. Now, Democrats hope that by shifting their attention to high prescription drug prices they might still mobilize voters and help the party maintain its edge on health care,...
PBS News Hour talks to Schaffner about the coronavirus threat
Feb. 6, 2020—Most Americans think novel coronavirus poses a real threat to public health with worry more widespread among older Americans, according to the latest PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll. Americans need not panic, even though it is encouraging that so many Americans are aware of the virus, said William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt Medical Center...
Talbot: Five things to know about China’s coronavirus outbreak
Feb. 4, 2020—Infectious diseases specialist Thomas Talbot, MD, MPH, is professor of Medicine and chief hospital epidemiologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He spoke about the current novel coronavirus outbreak in China. According to the New York Times, as of Feb. 2 there were at least 17,205 cases in China and 11 confirmed cases in the United States....
Buntin explains what the CMS block grant plan means for Tennessee
Feb. 4, 2020—The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Thursday laid out a plan to establish block grant funding for states that have expanded their Medicaid programs. The new structure is meant to serve as an alternative way for states to fund and manage a “higher-income” population within the Medicaid network but it does not extend...
Diamond confident about new concussion treatment method youth sports athletes
Feb. 4, 2020—Concussions can be a scary topic for families. It’s a conversation often heightened by the Super Bowl as more kids look to get on the gridiron. Vanderbilt University Medical Center Associate Professor of Orthopedics and Pediatrics, Dr. Alex Diamond says keeping kids out of youth sports isn’t the answer to addressing concussions. “Evidence points to...
Katz tracks causes of high antibiotic prescribing rates in Tennessee
Feb. 4, 2020—For a few years, Tennessee has been ranked as one of the highest antibiotic prescribing states in the nation, and a recent study showing that fewer than 2% of clinicians were responsible for prescribing 25% of pediatric antibiotics is moving some to action. Sophie Katz, MD, MPH, associate director of pediatric antimicrobial stewardship at Monroe...
Radiology’s health equity efforts led by Spalluto
Feb. 4, 2020—Lucy Spalluto, MD, MPH, has been named the first vice chair of Health Equity in the Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, a position established in response to VUMC’s continued commitment to equal and fair health for all. In this role, Spalluto will oversee the department’s health equity-focused initiatives, including the development of educational programming,...
Buntin named deputy editor of JAMA Health Forum
Feb. 4, 2020—Melinda Buntin, PhD, Mike Curb Professor of Health Policy and chair of the Department of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has been named deputy editor of JAMA Health Forum, a new online information channel published by JAMA Network. JAMA Health Forum, which launches in January, will focus on health policy and health strategy...
NYT talks to Dusetzina about Medicaid policy shift
Jan. 31, 2020—States will be able to cap a portion of spending for the safety-net program, a change likely to diminish the number of people receiving health benefits through it. Stacie Dusetzina, an associate professor of health policy at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, said a balance would need to be struck between excluding drugs as a...
On PBS NewsHour, Schaffner stresses that flu poses greater risk to Americans than new coronavirus
Jan. 30, 2020—A viral outbreak traced back to a live seafood and animal market in the Chinese city of Wuhan, home to 11 million people, continues to spread around the world, with new cases reported in the United States. So far, 132 people have died from novel coronavirus, and more than 6,000 people have become sick in...
Research from Graves finds Medicaid expansion helps low-income Southerners stay healthy
Jan. 30, 2020—Low-income adults were healthier overall in Southeastern states that expanded Medicaid compared to those that did not, a new study from Vanderbilt University and Harvard Medical School finds. Tennessee does not have expanded Medicaid. “It’s really about keeping people from having a health status decline,” said John Graves, associate professor in the Department of Public Health at...
Schaffner talks with USA Today about vaccine development for new coronavirus
Jan. 28, 2020—Drugmakers are hustling to make a vaccine to counter the rapidly spreading respiratory virus that has sickened at least 1,975 people in China and five in the United States. “Getting the vaccine candidate in the laboratory is the shorter and easier part,” said William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University School of Medicine professor of preventive medicine. “It is...
Schaffner: Influenza poses a far greater threat than coronavirus
Jan. 28, 2020—There’s a deadly virus spreading from state to state. It preys on the most vulnerable, striking the sick and the old without mercy. In just the past few months, it has claimed the lives of at least 39 children. The virus is influenza, and it poses a far greater threat to Americans than the coronavirus from...
MPH graduate Neuzil leading efforts on new coronavirus vaccine
Jan. 28, 2020—Public health officials and researchers, who never stopped preparing for the threat that a new form of the virus could emerge, are responding to this latest outbreak using the past as their guide. Dr. Kathleen Neuzil, director of the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Center for Vaccine Development, is already working directly on a vaccine...
What you need to know about the coronavirus according to Schaffner
Jan. 27, 2020—Dr. William Schaffner, Vanderbilt University professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases, joins ‘The Exchange’ to discuss the coronavirus outbreak and what you should know about the virus.
Schaffner discusses U.S. readiness for a viral outbreak with The Washington Post
Jan. 27, 2020—There is little doubt the country has made big leaps in preparedness since the anthrax scare of 2001, the SARS crisis in 2003, the MERS outbreak of 2014 and the West African Ebola epidemic that ended in 2016, according to experts and reports that evaluated the response to those crises. At UCLA and Emory University...
NYT discusses the Wuhan Coronavirus in the U.S. with Schaffner
Jan. 23, 2020—The World Health Organization is meeting on Wednesday to decide whether to declare the outbreak an international public health emergency. But information about the new virus is still thin, and it’s not clear whether or how many Americans are at risk. “There are still more questions that we don’t know the answers to than things...
WSJ: Clayton comments as tech giants gain access to medical records
Jan. 22, 2020—Hospitals have granted Microsoft Corp., International Business Machines Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. the ability to access identifiable patient information under deals to crunch millions of health records, the latest examples of hospitals’ growing influence in the data economy. The breadth of access wasn’t always spelled out by hospitals and tech giants when the deals were struck. Data that can identify patients—including...
NPR talks to Dusetzina about the impact of generic drugs on market pricing
Jan. 22, 2020—Sometimes, the approval of a new generic drug offers more hype than hope for patients’ wallets, as people with multiple sclerosis know all too well. New research shows just how little the introduction of a generic version of Copaxone — one of the most popular MS drugs — did to lower their medicine costs. Now,...
NBC News reports on new virus found in China with help from Schaffner
Jan. 20, 2020—U.S. health officials said Friday that all passengers from a Chinese city at the center of an outbreak of a new and deadly respiratory virus will be screened upon arrival at three airports in the U.S., starting with New York’s JFK Airport late Friday night. Three cases have been identified outside of China: one in...
Schaffner and Creech comment on young adult flu death
Jan. 17, 2020—“It’s such a terribly sad event,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a longtime advisor to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on infectious diseases. “But sometimes the flu captures a young person and in short order makes them literally gravely ill.” So far this flu season, 32 people under 18 have died of the...
PBS NewsHours discusses the decreasing number of children enrolled in Medicaid with Barkin
Jan. 17, 2020—Over a million children have fallen out of public health insurance programs since December 2017. In some cases, their parents acquired coverage at work. But researchers also see a troubling rise in uninsured children.
Health of Tennesseans is suffering due to failure to expand Medicaid says Graves
Jan. 17, 2020—Tennessee is one of 14 states where lawmakers have not approved any kind of plan to expand Medicaid coverage to residents. New research suggests failure to expand that coverage is having detrimental impact on some of the state’s most vulnerable residents. New research from Vanderbilt University Medical Center has found that the state’s failure to...
Creech’s Vaccine Program receives NIH renewal of VTEU
Jan. 17, 2020—The Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program (VVRP) has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue its work as one of the nation’s nine Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units (VTEUs). The VTEUs will contribute to a new federal effort to bolster clinical trial research and the readiness to respond to emerging diseases....
Foster explores trends in Hepatitis A Infection
Jan. 16, 2020—Although reported cases of hepatitis A virus (HAV) decreased significantly following availability of the HAV vaccine in 1996, increases observed in HAV cases since 2016 may be a sign that at-risk individuals are not receiving the vaccine prior to exposure. To obtain a better grasp on this trend and describe the increases in HAV cases...
NPR discusses Tennessee’s overprescribing of antibiotics with Katz
Jan. 16, 2020—It’s just a handful of pediatricians in Tennessee responsible for making Tennessee one of the highest prescribers of antibiotics in the country. A new study from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Tennessee Department of Health finds 2% of pediatricians account for 25% of the antibiotic prescriptions in the state. According to the analysis, published...
NBC News discusses this year’s flu vaccine effectiveness with Schaffner
Jan. 15, 2020—With months to go in this year’s flu season, the flu shot remains the best way to protect yourself from the potentially debilitating virus. In fact, even if you’ve already been sick with the flu this season, it’s still important to get a flu shot if you haven’t yet done so. It could protect you...
Schaffner: Less common flu strain hits kids especially hard this year
Jan. 15, 2020—Influenza B popped up unusually early across the U.S. in 2019 and may be the cause of the severe infections and deaths in children that have happened so far during the current flu season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of 27 children who died from the flu in the U.S. between...
NBC News discusses flu with Schaffner
Jan. 13, 2020—This season’s flu continues to hit children and young adults particularly hard, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting Friday that there have been twice as many pediatric flu deaths so far this year than at the same time last year. The flu season so far has distinguished itself from previous years with an early rise...
Smaller drug vials may not reduce costs says Dusetzina
Jan. 8, 2020—Last year, Medicare paid for $725 million worth of expensive medications administered in outpatient clinics — things like chemotherapy drugs — that ended up being discarded, according to new data released by the federal government. Requiring companies to make more appropriate vial sizes may not reduce wasted medications or save money. Researchers say drug companies could easily...
Creech: Flu symptoms different in children
Jan. 8, 2020—This year’s flu season is particularly dangerous, and it’s nothing to fool around with, especially for young children and older adults. Knowing the symptoms is key. Dr. Buddy Creech specializes in pediatric infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He said flu symptoms in children show up differently than they do in adults. Here’s what...
Graves finds that residents in Medicaid expansion states were less likely to report declining health
Jan. 8, 2020—Medicaid expansion makes it less likely that low-income people will suffer from plummeting health that jeopardizes their lives, according to a new study by Vanderbilt University and Harvard University researchers scrutinizing Tennessee and 11 other southern states. The findings, published Monday in the peer-reviewed journal Health Affairs, imply that for every 1,000 people who gain insurance coverage through Medicaid expansion, 257 fewer people...
As flu continues to surge Schaffner discusses prevention
Jan. 8, 2020—Experts say it’s shaping up to be the worst flu season we’ve seen in a decade. As of right now, at least 2,900 people have died of the flu this season, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and flu activity is “widespread” in the country. Flu season officially began in October and, since then,...
Genetic testing kits can lead to unveiled family medical secrets says Clayton
Jan. 7, 2020—Unwrapping the holiday gift of a genetic testing kit could mean revealing a previously unknown world of health concerns — and complicated family questions. By spitting in a test tube and sending it to companies like 23andMe or Ancestry.com, consumers might learn of potential genetic predispositions to Type 2 Diabetes, breast cancer, carrier status for cystic fibrosis...
MPH’s Isaacs: A Comprehensive Care Model for Tourette Syndrome
Jan. 5, 2020—Affecting as many as 300,000 children (around one in 160) in the United States, Tourette syndrome nevertheless tends to fall under the health care system’s radar. The condition is often underrecognized and can be complicated by anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depression. At Vanderbilt University Medical Center, David Isaacs, M.D., M.P.H., an adult...
Children far more likely to die after surgery in poor countries finds Newtwon
Dec. 20, 2019—Children in low-resourced countries are 100-200 times more likely to die after surgery than children in wealthy countries, according to a first-of-its-kind study published in Anesthesiology. Two billion of the world’s children lack access to safe surgery and anesthesia, and the need for pediatric surgery in low- and middle-income countries is growing, according to lead author...
Guillamondegui tracks impact of noise in operating rooms
Dec. 20, 2019—Research shows that noise negatively affects individuals and patient safety, and the operating room is one of the noisiest clinical areas due to information sharing among the clinical team, various technology devices and surgical equipment. But noise in the operating room is unregulated, not monitored and there is no policy governing it, a Vanderbilt nurse...
Telehealth grant boosts diabetes prevention efforts with Aliyu
Dec. 20, 2019—Vanderbilt’s Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) has demonstrated its effectiveness at helping employees lose weight as a means of preventing Type 2 diabetes and has received a five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand the program using telehealth. Vanderbilt Health & Wellness recently published research in the CDC journal Preventing Chronic Disease...
Everson and Dusetzina offer ideas on prescription drug prices, EHRs
Dec. 19, 2019—In a new viewpoint published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Vanderbilt University Medical Center professors Jordan Everson, Ph.D., Stacie Dusetzina, Ph.D., both in the Department of Health Policy, and Mark Frisse, MD, Accenture professor in the Department of Biomedical Informatics, say a new rule published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) should be phased...