News
Keipp Talbot: Updated Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
Aug. 23, 2024—Summary What is already known about this topic? On June 21, 2023, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended that adults aged ≥60 years may receive a single dose of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, using shared clinical decision-making. What is added by this report? On June 26, 2024, ACIP voted to update these...
MPH graduate Sophie Katz and colleagues urge practitioners to overcome “academic imprinting” and follow international trends
Aug. 14, 2024—Acute otitis media (AOM) is typically treated with 10 days of antibiotics, according to a new study in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (JPIDS).1 Notably, the investigators find the duration excessive, citing US and international guidelines advising 5 to 7 days, if antibiotics are indicated, but there is often no indication when the etiology is...
Zheng and Sudenga Study Finds Spending Too Much Time On The Couch Can Shorten Your Life
Aug. 9, 2024—It’s well known that spending too much time on the couch can shorten your life. Now, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have reported that moderate intensity, leisure-time physical activity can partially reduce the elevated risk of death from all causes due to prolonged sitting time. In a study of 8,337 predominantly low-income and Black...
Gastineau explains, approximately 3 million children witness a shooting each year in the US
Aug. 5, 2024—Hospitalization rates quintuple for youth who suffer nonfatal gun injuries. Health care costs are far higher for children suffering nonfatal firearm wounds when compared to their non-injured peers, even when the victim’s initial hospitalization is excluded from the tally, a recent study in Pediatrics reports. “Children with firearm-related injuries were more than five times as likely to require...
A healthy lifestyle may partially mitigate the effects of poverty on death rates says Zheng
Aug. 2, 2024—Study shows individuals from very low-income households have higher risk of early death. A new study illustrates the extent to which poverty impacts health: individuals in households with annual incomes below $15,000 are at three times the risk for early death compared to those in average-income families. The research, led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center...
Dr Natasha Halasa Discusses New Vaccine Surveillance Network Projects
Aug. 1, 2024—Natasha Halasa, MD, MPH, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), discusses the active population-based surveillance she helps to conduct as principal investigator (PI) of the Vanderbilt site of the New Vaccine Surveillance Network, which was established in 1999 by the CDC to predict the impact of potential new vaccines. She explained that this surveillance work...
Christianne Roumie to direct new Center of Innovation for Department of Veterans Affairs
Jul. 30, 2024—Christianne Roumie, MD, MPH, research health scientist at VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System and professor of Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Public Health at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has been named the director of a new Health Systems Research Center of Innovation (COIN) for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The COIN program supports...
Wesley Self named to leadership role in global clinical trials network
Jul. 22, 2024—Wesley Self, MD, MPH, Senior Vice President for Clinical Research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has been named chair of the Scientific Steering Committee overseeing a global clinical trials network focused on acute infectious disease. The network, called Strategies and Treatments for Respiratory Infections and Viral Emergencies (STRIVE), is funded by the National Institutes of...
Staffing is the most important part of providing high-quality nursing home care says Stevenson
Jul. 19, 2024—During inspections since 2021, state regulators cited a third of California homes — more than 400 of them — for inadequate staffing. Regulators also granted waivers to 236 homes that said work force shortages prevented them from recruiting enough nurse aides to meet the state minimum, exempting them from fines as high as $50,000. In New York,...
Mary- Margaret Fill and William Schaffner: Notes from the field Illnesses After Administration
Jul. 16, 2024—Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) products are considered safe for cosmetic use when administered in clinical settings, although potential spread of BoNT around the injection site can result in local, transient neurological effects (e.g., ptosis or diplopia) (1). In March 2024, clinicians notified the New York City (NYC) Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and Tennessee...
Drinking between 68 and 100 ounces of water per day is critical for optimal hydration, says Karpinos
Jul. 16, 2024—Record-setting high temperatures are dangerous not only for the planet, but also for human health. Whether you’re situated in the middle of a heat wave or you’re just trying to survive a scorching day, you’ll need strategies to cool off and stay well. One of the most crucial is to stay hydrated. But do eight eight-ounce glasses...
Dr. Schaffner discusses recent summer wave of COVID-19 cases
Jul. 9, 2024—COVID-19 cases are surging across the U.S. with the CDC saying a new variant is growing or likely growing in 43 states. Dr. William Schaffner, a professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, joined CBS News to talk about the rise in cases.
Creech and Vanderbilt researchers launch new antibody trial to address Enterovirus threat
Jul. 3, 2024—Vanderbilt University Medical Center has launched a first-in-human clinical trial to determine the safety and efficacy of an experimental monoclonal antibody against enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), which can cause severe respiratory disease and — in rare cases — a debilitating, polio-like neurologic condition. Currently there are no approved, specific treatments in the United States for severe...
Talbot Discusses New Covid-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Jul. 2, 2024—All Americans ages 6 months and older should receive one of the new Covid-19 vaccines when they become available this fall, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday. The recommendation comes as the nation faces a summer wave of Covid, with the number of infections rising in at least 39 states and territories. Most...
Schaffner addresses rare drug-resistant flu variant identified in the US
Jun. 27, 2024—A rare flu variant that has shown some resistance to the most commonly used antiviral treatment has been detected in at least two people in the United States, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Influenza viruses are constantly changing, but this variant has two concerning mutations in places that could lower...