COVID variant Archives
COVID-19: two years of challenges, lessons, victories
Mar. 3, 2022—Two years ago this week, the cataclysmic coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2 arrived in Middle Tennessee.
Vanderbilt and CDC research shows third vaccine dose key to preventing omicron hospitalization
Feb. 9, 2022—Vanderbilt research shows that two doses of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine result in lower effectiveness for preventing hospitalization for the omicron variant than previous variants. However, importantly, a third (“booster”) vaccine dose significantly improves protection against omicron hospitalization up to 86%.
Omicron evades some but not all monoclonal antibodies: study
Jan. 20, 2022—A new study found that several, but not all, of the human monoclonal antibodies used clinically to prevent patients from becoming severely ill from COVID-19 may not be protective against the Omicron variant now sweeping across the United States.
Weigh risks, plan ahead prior to gathering for the holidays
Dec. 8, 2021—Vanderbilt University Medical Center infectious disease experts advise this is the season to think very wisely about planned get-togethers.
Pediatricians seeing increase in children with MIS-C after latest COVID surge
Oct. 6, 2021— by Jessica Pasley More than 195 cases of multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) have been reported statewide since May 2020, according to Tennessee Department of Health data. The number of cases has more than tripled since early February when the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed about 51 cases in Tennessee....
Rounds: Hard conversations
Sep. 22, 2021—Difficult conversations are a hallmark of medicine. Patients and their families rely on us to share the facts about their illnesses that are sometimes hard to hear. While many clinicians begin to do this while training, our effectiveness in these conversations develops throughout a career. Telling a young mother she has an aggressive cancer or...
“Ultra-potent” antibody against COVID-19 variants isolated at VUMC
Sep. 22, 2021—A technology developed at Vanderbilt has led to the discovery of an “ultra-potent” monoclonal antibody against multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, including the delta variant.
Family pediatricians should be first line of defense for COVID concerns
Aug. 11, 2021—As the more contagious delta variant of COVID-19 spreads, impacting children, pediatricians at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt say there are steps parents can take to help keep their children safe.
Shared antibodies may push COVID-19 variants: VUMC study
Aug. 10, 2021—Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have found that people recovering from COVID-19 and those vaccinated against the causative virus, SARS-CoV-2, produce identical clones, or groups, of antibody-producing white blood cells.
Update on COVID-19 for VUMC workforce: what you need to know
Jul. 19, 2021—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.
Statement from VUMC: COVID-19 vaccination continues to be the way forward
Jul. 19, 2021—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.
Combination antibody therapies should retain effectiveness against emerging COVID-19 variants: study
Jun. 22, 2021—Five monoclonal antibody “cocktails,” including one developed at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), are protective in animal studies against several variant strains of COVID-19, according to a report this week in the journal Nature.