These days, it’s tempting to compare COVID-19 with the common cold or flu. It can similarly leave you with a nasty cough, fever, sore throat—the full works of respiratory symptoms. And it’s also become a part of the societal fabric, perhaps something you’ve resigned yourself to catching at least a few times in your life (even if […]
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, it became immediately clear to the worldwide scientific and research communities that a dire need was evolving to discover effective treatments for a rapidly increasing number of infected patients.
A study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis indicates that the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine may be more effective at preventing infections if doses are given around the middle of the day rather than at other times. The researchers believe circadian rhythm — the natural cycle of physical and other changes our bodies […]
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are working to reduce the risk of another devastating coronavirus pandemic by creating what is known as a pan-coronavirus vaccine. Such a vaccine is designed to reduce sickness and death resulting from the virus that causes COVID-19 as well as any other coronaviruses of concern, including […]
The risk of long-term health problems, hospitalization and death after a COVID-19 infection diminishes among those who take the antiviral drug Paxlovid within five days after testing positive, according to an analysis of federal health data by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care […]
Starting Wednesday, March 23, WashU Medicine and BJC Healthcare will ease masking requirements on the Medical Campus, including clinical settings plus all common areas. Masks will be situational and optional for patients and visitors and their families. Employees will still be required to wear a mask to comply with these requests: Masking and personal protective […]
This episode of ‘Show Me the Science’ focuses on easily transmissible variants causing another wave of COVID-19 infections
Findings help explain why vaccinated people at low risk during delta surge
Combination therapies appear to prevent emergence of drug resistance
New clues on why more men than women develop severe disease
People who have had mild illness develop antibody-producing cells that can last lifetime
This episode of ‘Show Me the Science’ details how School of Medicine scientists began working with the virus, ramping up research efforts while the rest of the world was shutting down
Major study details numerous long-term effects of COVID-19, pointing to massive health burden
Alzheimer’s researchers, aerosol engineer team up to develop rapid screening tools
Findings could help explain how asthma, COPD, severe COVID-19 are triggered
Worrisome new coronavirus variants can evade antibodies that neutralize original virus
Study reveals details of how coronavirus infects heart; models of tissue damage may help develop potential therapies
Research involving cytokines and how they’re packaged sheds light on inflammation in asthma, COPD, COVID-19
Findings involving antibody effector functions could help improve design of next-generation COVID-19 antibody drugs
The following list of available sites is vetted and approved by the Chief Data Scientist Dr. Philip R.O. Payne
Fierce sense of mission drives front-line workers as they treat COVID-19
COVID-19 surge gives way to unprecedented collaboration, innovation
People with Barrett’s esophagus have SARS-CoV-2 receptors in upper GI tract
Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), gave the Gerald Medoff Visiting Professor lecture at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis on Thursday, Jan. 7. The session was delivered online. Part of the Department of Medicine’s virtual, weekly Grand Rounds, […]
This episode of ‘Show Me the Science’ contrasts the rapid development of effective vaccines with the lack of progress toward effective therapies
Employees with close patient contact begin receiving Pfizer vaccine; older ages prioritized
Data analysis offers comparison of the two viruses
This episode of ‘Show Me the Science’ reports on progress toward a vaccine and how to stay safe before vaccines become widely available
A look at how Washington University came together in the spring and summer to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak — and to prepare for a fall semester that is anything but back to normal.
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MO (November 23, 2020) – At least one out of every 100 St. Louis County adult residents had an active COVID-19 infection earlier this fall, while about five out of every 100 adults had contracted the disease at some earlier point, according to test results of a representative sample of county residents. […]
$5 million grant to fund saliva tests for students, teachers, staff in schools operated by Special School District of St. Louis County
Antidepressant drug repurposed for patients with coronavirus infection
New findings from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggest the eye’s cornea can resist infection from the novel coronavirus. Although the herpes simplex virus can infect the cornea and spread to other parts of the body in patients with compromised immune systems, and Zika virus has been found in tears […]
One of the most vexing aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic is the novel coronavirus’s ability to turn the body’s immune system against the body. After the virus has been cleared from the body, the immune system sometimes continues to hurtle an arsenal of immune proteins at the already vanquished virus, creating a dangerous inflammatory response […]
By itself, beginning medical school is a major milestone. But the entering class of 2024 also experienced several significant firsts upon their arrival earlier this month at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The 105 aspiring physicians are beginning medical school in the midst of a global pandemic.
As summer gives way to fall, a time when a “second wave” has been predicted, our state finds itself in a battle, with a pattern of small advances followed by setbacks, against the pandemic. After flattening the curve in the St. Louis metropolitan region with shelter-in-place and masking policies, we saw increases in cases in […]
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are investigating whether a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat rare diseases of an overactive immune system could help critically ill patients hospitalized with COVID-19. The drug blocks a specific protein of the immune system that doctors suspect contributes to […]
An experimental vaccine is effective at preventing pneumonia in mice infected with the COVID-19 virus, according to a study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The vaccine, which is made from a mild virus genetically modified to carry a key gene from the COVID-19 virus, is described in the journal Cell Host […]
Washington University in St. Louis, the St. Louis County Department of Public Health and other collaborators are conducting a survey of St. Louis County residents and offering COVID-19 testing to gauge the prevalence of and risk factors for the illness. Working with the county, Washington University’s Institute for Public Health is teaming up with other local public health and […]
Dozens of faculty, students and staff at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have committed countless hours over the past three years to planning a new curriculum that will launch in September with the arrival of incoming medical students. Although faculty, students and staff didn’t know it, they also were preparing for the […]
The virus that causes COVID-19 probably originated in wild bats that live in caves around Wuhan, China, and may have been passed to a second animal species before infecting people, according to the World Health Organization. Many of the most devastating epidemics of recent decades – including Ebola, avian influenza and HIV/AIDS – were triggered […]
As U.S. scientists ramp up a national effort to evaluate COVID-19 vaccine candidates at clinical trial sites across the country, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Saint Louis University Center for Vaccine Development have been tapped to join the historic effort to find a COVID-19 vaccine that can prevent […]
Airborne and potentially deadly, the virus that causes COVID-19 can only be studied safely under high-level biosafety conditions. Scientists handling the infectious virus must wear full-body biohazard suits with pressurized respirators, and work inside laboratories with multiple containment levels and specialized ventilation systems. While necessary to protect laboratory workers, these safety precautions slow down efforts […]
The virus that causes COVID-19 probably originated in wild bats that live in caves around Wuhan, China, and may have been passed to a second animal species before infecting people, according to the World Health Organization.
Six months into the pandemic, people diagnosed with mild cases of COVID-19 still are told to isolate themselves and wait out the infection at home. Doctors monitor such patients so they can intervene if their condition deteriorates, but no antiviral drugs have been shown to hasten recovery or forestall severe illness in people who are […]
Medical critical care director Patrick Aguilar, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, talks about planning for the COVID-19 pandemic.
With Brazil leading the world in newly diagnosed COVID-19 cases, Latin America has become the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, outbreaks continue to escalate in parts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Public health authorities worldwide desperately need to expand testing so they can track the spread of the infection, but molecular diagnostic […]