News
Schaffner comments on TN COVID-19 infections amid delta surge
Aug. 27, 2021—Tennessee surpassed 1 million coronavirus infections on Tuesday as the virus conquers the state again, filling hospitals and spreading rapidly among the unvaccinated and school-age children. Dr. William Schaffner, an expert on infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said he never initially expected Tennessee to reach 1 million infections. But coronavirus has proven a “nasty, resistant virus,” and he...
Gastineau discusses the increase in pediatric firearm encounters during the pandemic
Aug. 26, 2021—Researchers at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt discovered an alarming finding during the height of the pandemic — a marked increase in firearm encounters among children. “A lot of pediatricians were seeing this really odd downturn trend in overall hospital encounters (in 2020),” said Kelsey Gastineau, M.D., M.P.H. candidate, a clinical fellow of...
Wiese finds no safe Opioid dose for postpartum
Aug. 26, 2021—According to a recent report published in Women’s Health Issues, filling an opioid prescription after a vaginal delivery is associated with an increased risk of serious opioid-related events, regardless of dose. The finding could significantly impact prescribing guidelines. “What this study shows is that because there is no ‘safe’ opioid dose, we recommend against routine or...
ABC News talks to Schaffner about when to get the COVID-19 booster
Aug. 25, 2021—In the next month, millions of Americans will get ready to roll up their sleeves for a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. But when it comes to booster shots, it’s not as simple as ‘more is more’ — it’s also a matter of when. For severely immunocompromised people, a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is available...
Talbot discusses the third dose option of the COVID-19 vaccine
Aug. 25, 2021—Thomas Talbot, professor of medicine and chief hospital epidemiologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, shares information about the third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, applicable to people with moderate to severe immunocompromise.
Creech is honored with a NBJ Health Care Innovation award
Aug. 19, 2021—Three leaders of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center community are among the winners of the Nashville Business Journal’s 2021 Health Care Innovation awards. The Health Care Innovation awards “honor those who pushed the region’s signature industry forward and who helped protect their communities in uncertain times.” Honorees will be featured in a special edition on Sept. 10....
CNN talks to Schaffner about new vaccination policies
Aug. 18, 2021—Some states, health care organizations and New York City say they’ll require proof of vaccination — a copy of an employee’s vaccination certificate or a version uploaded into an app on a person’s phone. But other employers say they will allow workers to self-attest that they’ve had the vaccine. “There will be some folks who...
Schaffner discusses flu during the COVID-19 pandemic
Aug. 16, 2021—It’s not a surprise viruses other than COVID started to circulate as restrictions were lifted and people started to gather. But, one in particular, called RSV has caught the eye of Dr. William Schaffner a Professor of Infectious Disease at Vanderbilt. “That’s been out there in a very unseasonal fashion. That shouldn’t be here now....
NBC News talks to Talbot about approved COVID-19 vaccine booster
Aug. 16, 2021—An advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted Friday to recommend that certain patients with weakened immune systems receive an extra dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine. Dr. Helen Keipp Talbot, a member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville,...
Self looks at vaccine effectiveness in preventing hospitalization
Aug. 12, 2021—In early 2020, clinical trial data showed that the current SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine effectiveness worked in preventing infections and severe illness from COVID-19 in the clinical trial setting. Now, an ongoing, multicenter study led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center and supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released its first data on the...
Dusetzina comments on novel solutions to produce cheaper medicines
Aug. 11, 2021—Impatient with years of inaction in Washington on prescription drug costs, U.S. hospital groups, startups and nonprofits have started making their own medicines in a bid to combat stubbornly high prices and persistent shortages of drugs with little competition. The efforts are at varying stages, but some have already made and shipped millions of doses....
Talbot discusses when the COVID vaccines will be approved for children
Aug. 11, 2021—Thomas Talbot, professor of medicine and chief hospital epidemiologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, shares the latest available information on when COVID-19 vaccines will be approved for children under age 12.
New Clinician Spotlight: Sonya Reid
Aug. 10, 2021—Sonya Reid, MD, MPH, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology Oncology, is a member of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center Breast Cancer Research Program and sees patients at Vanderbilt Health One Hundred Oaks. Reid’s research focuses primarily on health disparities in breast cancer, young-onset breast cancer and hereditary breast cancer with a particular...
Talbot and Schaffner discuss the Delta Variant and Latest on COVID-19
Aug. 10, 2021—Listen in as Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s chief epidemiologist, Dr. Tom Talbot, and infectious disease expert Dr. William Schaffner, talk about the latest developments in the COVID-19 pandemic and the most common questions about the delta variant.
Drugmakers to reduce waste under new Senate deal says Dusetzina
Aug. 6, 2021—Lawmakers who want drugmakers to repay Medicare for wasted drugs say manufacturers intentionally over-package containers to reap more revenue from the government. Without a profit motive, these companies are likely to find ways to reduce waste, said Stacie Dusetzina, a professor of health policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “If the industry knows that every...