Show Me the Science

Over a million kids ages 5 to 11 have had the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and a growing number of older people are getting booster shots. Although the official recommendation limits the booster to those over age 65, with weakened immune systems or who have jobs that put them at high risk for exposure to the novel coronavirus, that's expected to change soon. Some states and cities already h...

COVID-19 has killed more than 5 million people around the world, with more than 740,000 dead in the United States. Although the virus is far more deadly in older people than in children, more than 650 kids have died of COVID-19 in the United States. Meanwhile, during the surge caused by the delta variant, hospitalizations of children increased fivefold. Some 90% of the 12- to 17-year-olds hospital...

Even as the numbers of COVID-19 cases around the country decline again, with cooler weather and people moving back indoors, we're being warned about the possibility of another swing upward in cases. Such an increase would represent yet another wave of illness during this pandemic. And after all these months, the stress is getting to many people. Groups particularly vulnerable to such stress are ol...

Recently, the federal government decided that vaccine booster shots will be made available for Americans 65 and older, those with compromised immune systems and others in high-risk jobs. In addition, Pfizer has submitted data asserting its vaccine is safe and effective for children ages 5-12. The next step could be an emergency use authorization from the Food & Drug Administration, allowing younge...

In March 2020, the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in the St. Louis region, and health officials in St. Louis County and the city of St. Louis issued emergency orders to try to halt the virus' spread. A new study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis determined that those orders may have saved hundreds of lives and prevented thousands of hospitalizations....

It's been a busy summer in the laboratory of Ali Ellebedy, PhD , an associate professor of pathology & immunology and of molecular microbiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Studying samples from patients with COVID-19 infections and others who have been vaccinated against the virus, he's found hopeful signs in the immune system — even regarding the vaccine's response t...

As patients infected with the delta variant of the COVID-19 virus fill hospitals in parts of Missouri, and the virus spreads new infections around the country, Washington University data scientists and infectious diseases specialists are urging people to mask up again, regardless of vaccination status. The researchers say that although vaccination remains remarkably effective, masking and other pu...

Pregnant patients who get COVID-19 have much worse outcomes than women who don't get infected. They are three times as likely to end up in intensive care, three times as likely to need a ventilator to help them breathe and twice as likely to die. Ebony Boyce Carter, MD , an assistant professor of obstetrics & gynecology, has delivered babies throughout the pandemic while promoting health equity fo...

Whether and how children can return to classrooms has been hotly debated during the past year. Requiring teachers and students to wear masks, spreading out kids in classrooms and preventing students and staff from coming to school when sick has made most schools safe. With many teachers now vaccinated and more children now eligible, it's expected that classrooms will be even safer when school resu...

After recently announcing that vaccinated people could safely take off their masks outdoors and gather in small groups with other vaccinated people indoors, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) next decided that vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks indoors either. The new guidelines caught many by surprise, but William G. Powderly, MD , the Larry J. Shapiro Director...

Infections with the virus that causes COVID-19 are not the only cause of pandemic-related hospitalizations. Although children tend to be at lower risk of COVID-19, the number of kids with mental health and behavioral problems has exploded during the pandemic, driving an increase in pediatric hospital admissions nationwide. Stressors associated with remote schooling, fear of infection, and concern...

Even before the first case of COVID-19 was reported in the United States, Michael S. Diamond, MD, PhD , the Herbert S. Gasser Professor of Medicine, started setting the stage with Sean Whelan, PhD , the Marvin A. Brennecke Distinguished Professor of Molecular Microbiology, for scientists at the university to study the virus. Whelan had just arrived in St. Louis to begin his new role as head of the...

When we launched this podcast in March 2020, our first guest was a doctor who had spent years planning responses to epidemics, bioterrorism and other disasters. Last March, Steven J. Lawrence, MD, a professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, told us what he thought might happen as the pandemic progressed. He worried about whether there would be enough ventilators, ICU beds and m...

In the year since COVID-19 infections first appeared in the United States, a few things have become clear. One is that many who get sick don't recover quickly. Even those who don't have to be hospitalized can experience symptoms that linger. Called long-haulers, these individuals suffer from a variety of issues such as shortness of breath, abnormal heart rhythms, fatigue and loss of the ability to...

It's been a year since the first COVID-19 cases started appearing in the United States, and during this span, many people have been living with the stress of trying to work from home while simultaneously trying to help their kids attend online school. Essential workers haven't had the safety of home, having to continue working in grocery stores, and child-care, food-production and other such setti...

For the past year, we've heard about the importance of wearing masks, avoiding crowds, maintaining physical distance and regularly washing our hands. All of us have been asked to take simple steps to protect ourselves and those around us. But nothing is simple when you have to do it every day for months, particularly while receiving mixed messages from some friends and leaders. In this episode, we...

COVID-19 vaccine development has been rapid and successful. Two vaccines that report more than 90% efficacy against the virus already are in use, with approval of more vaccines expected in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, the development of treatments for those infected with the virus has been slower. Only one drug, the steroid dexamethasone, has been proven to reduce the risk of death in those hospit...

Drug companies are reporting eye-popping success rates in clinical trials of their vaccines to prevent COVID-19. It's possible the first people in the U.S. could begin getting shots before the end of the year. In this episode, we'll hear about the amazing pace of vaccine development, as well as Washington University's role in vaccine research, from infectious diseases specialist Rachel Presti, MD,...

Winter is coming, and the pandemic is intensifying in most of the country, with numbers of COVID-19 cases setting records almost daily, cold weather approaching and people moving activities indoors. In addition, college students who have been away at school for the last few months will return home soon, and extended families are trying to figure out whether it will be safe to gather for holiday me...

Testing, social distancing, wearing masks and regular hand washing are among the tools recommended to limit the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. But achieving such practices can be challenging for people who don't have homes and often must eat and sleep in places with other people. Experts from Washington University School of Medicine, the Brown School, the St. Louis County and...

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, health officials have talked about the need for better, faster and more frequent testing. Recently, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis developed a saliva test that can detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus without inserting a nasopharyngeal swab into the nose or throat. The saliva test also doesn't require chemical reagents to extra...

The pandemic is affecting everyone, but the stresses it causes are particularly rough for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. Providing effective education to such children and getting services to those who need help in their homes is typically complex, but those issues are even more difficult in the face of COVID-19. Child psychiatrist John N. Constantino, M...

It's possible some people may have been infected earlier, but the first COVID-19 diagnoses in the U.S. occurred in late January. Since then, testing failures, partisan political debates, conspiracy theories and desperate searches for effective treatments have characterized the pandemic response in the United States. However, through all of the noise, scientists have learned quite a bit, according...

New research from scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that the immune systems of COVID-19 patients can't do enough to protect them from the virus. A popular theory has it that patients' immune systems get so revved up fighting the virus that, after several days, a so-called cytokine storm ensues, resulting in potentially fatal organ damage, particularly to...

The crowdsourced supercomputing project Folding@home harnesses the combined processing power of millions of computers whose owners download software and run simulations to model how proteins move and fold. Now, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals, universities companies, even the Spanish soccer league La Liga, have joined forces to model how the coronavirus uses its spike protein to...