Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers, supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), are leading a nationwide clinical trial to explore the safety and effectiveness of a group of novel drugs designed to protect patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at high risk of poor outcomes.

Hospital data from a CDC network that monitors influenza revealed that adults hospitalized for COVID-19 in the early months of the pandemic were 20x more likely to die compared to hospitalized influenza patients.

COVID-19 is still very much part of our daily lives, and infection rates are on the increase in the community. VUMC continues to effectively manage COVID-19, and outpatient and inpatient volumes are back to pre-COVID levels.

Last week, Vanderbilt University Medical Center announced that COVID-19 vaccinations for leaders will become mandatory. This was a carefully considered step forward in VUMC’s ongoing efforts to protect its patients and employees from the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its variants.

Sue Perron, a Vanderbilt intensive care nurse, told the story of the patient with COVID she called the Butterfly Man

A massive worldwide collaboration including researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) has identified several genetic factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 illness.

“We are seeing a spike in respiratory illnesses, especially RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) and parainfluenza, which cause croup and bronchiolitis in young children and flu-like symptoms in older children and adults,” said James Antoon, MD, PhD, FAAP, assistant professor of Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.