Washington University School of Medicine

Missouri National Guardsman Herbert Lin injects resident Patricia Bolden with the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, while administering to the elderly at the Cambridge Senior Living Center in St. Louis on Thursday, March 4, 2021.

Virus Variants Can Elude Antibodies, Suggesting Need For COVID Vaccine Booster Shots

Shahla Farzan

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While some antibodies remained effective, researchers found it often took more of them to quash the new variants compared to the original virus. The results, along with a growing body of research worldwide, suggest COVID-19 vaccines and treatments may need to be updated in the future.

Health, Science, Environment

The Pandemic Is Exacerbating Antibiotic Resistance, Says Concerned Wash U Physician

Emily Woodbury

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A study published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases finds that in addition to up to half of adults being wrongfully prescribed antibiotics in hospital settings, one in four children given antibiotics in children’s hospitals are prescribed the drugs inappropriately.

Health, Science, Environment

Missouri Construction Workers Face Frequent Injuries, Often Prescribed Opioids

Shahla Farzan

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A large share of construction workers in Missouri, southern Illinois and Kansas are being diagnosed with muscle and joint injuries each year, according to a large analysis of union health care data from Washington University, and many are prescribed opioid painkillers.

Coronavirus

Anthony Fauci Tells Wash U Audience To Allay Coronavirus Vaccine Fears With Facts

Sarah Fentem

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Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, told doctors and students at Washington University School of Medicine on Thursday that communication and empathy are key to treating patients during the coronavirus pandemic.

Rural residents who have a stroke are less likely to receive advanced treatment options and about 20% more likely to die at the hospital compared to urban patients, according to research from Washington University.

Health, Science, Environment

Rural Stroke Patients Less Likely To Survive, Wash U Study Finds

Shahla Farzan

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Stroke patients in rural hospitals fare far worse than urban patients, according to new research from Washington University.Based on the records of nearly…

Philip Mudd picks up a cooler of medical samples at Washington University's School of Medicine. Mudd and his colleague Jane O'Halloran created a centralized bank of samples collected from COVID-19 patients in St. Louis.

Health, Science, Environment

'Just A Bit Of Saliva': COVID-19 Specimen Bank Propels Coronavirus Research In St. Louis

Shahla Farzan

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Researchers at Washington University are collecting samples from hundreds of people who have had COVID-19 — including blood, saliva and urine.As…

Ecologist Leticia Classen-Rodriguez, who studies wolf spiders at St. Louis University, stands at the closed gates of the Litzsinger Road Ecology Center in Ladue on June 6, 2020.

Health, Science, Environment

'I Feel Like I’m Not Doing Anything': Scientists Find Research Difficult During Pandemic

Eli Chen

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Before the coronavirus pandemic, Leticia Classen-Rodriguez planned on spending spring and summer searching for wolf spiders along a winding tree-covered…

health officials are expecting the peak on/around April 25. But another, potentially worse, peak could come if businesses/etc try to go back to normal before wide-spread testing becomes available.

Health, Science, Environment

As St. Louis COVID-19 Cases Hit Likely Peak, Hospitals Avoid Rationing Care

Emily Woodbury

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In mid-April, the incident commander of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force, Dr. Alex Garza, predicted that hospitalizations of COVID-19 cases…

Two students walk down the long stairwell in front of Brookings Administration Building at Washington University in St. Louis. (photo taken March 19, 2020)

Economy & Business

Wash U To Furlough About 1,300 Employees, Many At Medical Campus, Amid Pandemic

Ryan Delaney

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Updated at 5:45 p.m. with comments from the chief health care officer of the Association of American Medical CollegesWashington University’s health care…

The new coronavirus has been detected in dozens of countries, including the United States. It gets its name from its protruding spikes, which resemble a crown.

Health, Science, Environment

Wash U To Test Malaria Drugs On Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients

Eli Chen

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Doctors at the Washington University School of Medicine will treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients with antimalarial drugs to see if they can fight the…