News
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...