News
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...