News
Halasa discusses new vaccine surveillance network projects her team is pursuing
Feb. 12, 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...
Single-dose typhoid vaccine proven to protect children long-term, says Neuzil
Feb. 9, 2024—The research team enrolled more than 28,000 healthy children in Malawi and randomly assigned about half the group to receive TCV and the other half to receive a meningococcal capsular group A conjugate (MenA) control vaccine. During the more than four years of follow-up, 24 children in the TCV group and 110 in the MenA...
Creech discusses current challanges around RSV immunizations
Feb. 7, 2024—Let’s Talk ID is joining forces with the Curbsiders and the Cribsiders to discuss RSV immunizations! In this crossover episode, host Buddy Creech, MD, MPH, FPIDS, shares the latest on RSV immunizations, including mechanisms of action, eligibility criteria, and challenges surrounding finding doses this season.
APOL1 gene variant tied to higher COVID-19 mortality, says Hung
Feb. 6, 2024—Nationwide analysis finds variants may confer more than elevated risk of kidney disease. A sweeping analysis published in JAMA Internal Medicine found people harboring apolipoprotein 1 (APOL1) gene variants were at increased risk of developing acute kidney injury (AKI) and dying following hospitalization for COVID-19. The APOL1 variants protect against a parasitic infection native to Africa but are associated...
Al Hussein investigates side effects of treatments for prostate cancer treatments
Feb. 5, 2024—A 10-year follow up study of nearly 2,500 U.S. men who received prostate cancer treatment will help inform decision making in terms of treatments and side effects for a diverse population. The CEASAR (Comparative Effectiveness Analysis of Surgery and Radiation for Localized Prostate Cancer) study, coordinated by Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), is a multisite...
Bird flu vaccine more effective with potent adjuvant, says Creech
Jan. 22, 2024—The avian (bird) influenza vaccine creates a more robust immune response when paired with a potent ingredient known as an adjuvant, according to Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) research published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases. Adjuvants are used to help some vaccines work better by creating a stronger immune response for people receiving the vaccine. Avian...
VUMC to launch Program for Health Equity Researh; Umeukeje to serve as Co-Director
Jan. 10, 2024—Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s new Program for Health Equity Research (PHER), which will kick off next year, aims to become the nation’s leader in health equity research that’s inclusive, supportive and diverse by creating a rigorous environment for application-driven research with rapid response to policies and practices. The mission of PHER is to establish a community of scholars...
Collegiate golfers and tennis players reportedly underuse sunscreen; habits may be attributable to increase in melanoma cases, says Karpinos
Jan. 9, 2024—Collegiate tennis players aren’t using enough sunscreen, a new survey finds. And collegiate golfers aren’t either. As reported in Clinics in Dermatology, Georgina Sellyn, MA, Ashley Karpinos, MD, MPH, and research partners surveyed members of tennis and golf teams in five National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I conferences. Spending up to four hours per day outside practicing their sport,...
Gastineau and colleagues find youth who suffer nonfatal firearm injuries experience greater likelihood for future health issues
Jan. 8, 2024—According to a recent study released in Pediatrics, youth who suffer nonfatal firearm injuries have a significantly increased risk of hospitalizations, emergency department (ED) visits, outpatient visits and costs in the 12 months following injury compared to youth without a firearm injury. “We’ve seen firearm injuries in youth dramatically climb over the last few years, wreaking...
Nirsevimab Reduced Hospitalizations for Infants With RSV, says Halasa
Jan. 3, 2024—The monoclonal antibody nirsevimab (Beyfortus) reduced hospitalizations among infants with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-associated lower respiratory tract infection, the randomized, pragmatic HARMONIE trial showed. In over 8,000 infants included in the study, 0.3% who received nirsevimab were hospitalized for RSV-associated lower respiratory tract infection compared with 1.5% of those who received standard care, which corresponded...
JN.1 Now Accounts for Nearly Half of U.S. Covid Cases, says Schaffner
Jan. 2, 2024—As the holiday season winds down and Covid-19 cases start to pick up, a variant called JN.1 has now become the most common strain of the virus spreading across the United States. JN.1, which emerged from the variant BA.2.86 and was first detected in the United States in September, accounted for 44 percent of Covid cases nationwide...
Halasa and colleagues find infants in intensive care for RSV did not have preexisting conditions
Dec. 22, 2023—New study findings from JAMA Network Open announced that most infants that were admitted to the intensive care or high acuity unit during fall of 2022 due to infection with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) were healthy and born at term prior to infection. The study results aid preventative interactions to protect infants from being infected with RSV,...
Acknowledging traditional definitions of health care-associated influenza can lead to gross undercounting of patient cases, says Talbot
Dec. 21, 2023—The traditional definition of health care-associated influenza leads to gross undercounting, a recent study suggests. As reported in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, Erin Gettler, MD, Thomas Talbot, MD, MPH, and colleagues analyzed data on 5,904 patients from eight counties in Middle Tennessee who were hospitalized with influenza from 2012 to 2019. Only 147 cases, or 2.5%, met the...
DeBaun discusses exa-cel, a gene editing treatment recently approved by the FDA for sickle cell disease
Dec. 20, 2023—Most people with sickle cell disease who received a new gene editing treatment saw their pain resolve for at least one year, but longer follow up is needed. CRISPR, the gene-editing technology that has revolutionized biological research, is finally available as a medical treatment with regulatory approval. On December 8 the U.S. Food and Drug...
NIH awards Tsosie and colleagues $9M for Indigenous-led tribal data repository to improve community health
Dec. 15, 2023—In an effort to improve the health of tribal communities and Indigenous people, the National Institutes of Health has awarded $9 million in funding for Native scientists at Arizona State University and elsewhere to create the first Indigenous-led tribal data repository. Since the SARS-CoV-2 worldwide pandemic began, global Indigenous communities have been particularly hard hit,...