News
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...