Media Coverage

Mercedes Carnethon, vice chair of preventive medicine at Northwestern University, experienced that debate firsthand over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.

Epidemiologist Mercedes Carnethon of Northwestern University went on national television programs recently to share her view that vulnerable populations still need protection and that people need to keep taking sensible measures to suppress the virus — such as wearing masks.

“I wish the pandemic were over and it was safe to lift vaccine mandates, particularly in spaces where masks will be off for eating and drinking. This seems like a move to promote normalcy without there really being normalcy,” said Dr. Sadiya Khan, an epidemiologist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “Vaccine mandates are safe and effective public health strategies, and backing down on this is likely to worsen spread.”

The babies of mothers vaccinated with either the two-dose Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy had a 61% reduced risk of being hospitalized with the virus up to 6 months after birth, a study by the CDC determined. Because many are still hesitant about receiving a vaccine during pregnancy, Dr. Emily Miller, chief of obstetrics and assistant professor of maternal fetal medicine, says this study is an important piece of clinical data to help encourage expecting mothers to get vaccinated.

Kamila Valieva, a Russian skater has tested positive for the use of trimetazidine, a banned performance enhancing drug. However, she has been allowed to compete in all her events. Dr. George Chimpas
describes trimetazidine as a “newer medication” which is typically used for older patients with heart failure…theoretically it potentially creates greater efficacy of the heart…if you’re an athlete, and specifically an endurance athlete…this is where those little edges might make a difference especially when you’re shooting for gold.”

Russian skater Kamila Valeieva says she failed a drug test before the Olympics because it was contaminated by medication her grandfather was taking. Valeieva tested positive for the heart drug trimetazidine, a drug that can improve stamina in healthy young athletes. “The drug can help by improving the efficiency of the heart in being able to deliver blood flow more effectively,” Dr. Sadiya Khan, a cardiologist at Northwestern Medicine, told TODAY.

Northwestern Memorial Hospital is opening a new heart hospital within its walls, with $45 million donated by Neil Bluhm and his family’s charitable foundation. The money will allow Northwestern to increase its number of beds for cardiovascular patients in need of overnight care from about 85 to 140, said Dr. Patrick McCarthy, executive director of the Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute.

Acetaminophen may do wonders for a headache, but using it for long-term pain relief could prove risky for people with high blood pressure, a new clinical trial suggests. “Especially in people who already have hypertension, an increase in blood pressure is always bad,” said Donald Lloyd Jones, president of the American Heart Association and chairman of preventative medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

A new study of underreported coronavirus variants is serving as a reminder that early detection and frequent genomic sequencing are among the most effective arrows in the quiver of public health officials. Eta may have warranted designation as a “variant of concern” had its growth potential been recognized earlier, wrote the researchers from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and the University of Ibadan in Nigeria.

As more schools across Illinois decide to lift mask requirements in the classroom following a downstate judge’s decision, experts at Northwestern said removing face-covering mandates “is clearly not a decision based on data.” Dr. Tina Tan, professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, called lifting the existing mask mandates “a little bit premature.”