‘A Small Tail, More a Corgi Size Than a Shepherd’: What We Heard This Week

“A small tail, more a corgi size than a shepherd.” — Mary-Ellen Taplin, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discussing the tail of the survival curve in a phase III trial of a novel radioligand therapy for advanced prostate cancer.

“Happily, science generally finds a way of correcting itself when it goes astray.” — Robert Howard, MD, MRCPsych, of University College London, about the FDA’s decision to approve aducanumab (Aduhelm) for Alzheimer’s disease.

“I want to be sure that the risk of the vaccine is less than the risk of hospitalization, because four per million certainly does not constitute an emergency.” — FDA advisory committee member H. Cody Meissner, MD, of Tufts Medical Center, debating whether COVID-19 vaccines for children need emergency use authorization or full FDA approval.

“[PTSD] can diminish their ability to deliver the best quality care, and may increase incidents of medical errors.” — Albert Wu, MD, of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, on work-related post-traumatic stress disorder among medical interns.

“But there is hope now, for these patients.” — Jan Deprest, MD, PhD, of University Hospitals Leuven in Belgium, on fetoscopic endoluminal tracheal occlusion bolstering survival for babies with severe left-sided diaphragmatic hernia.

“Roll up those sleeves everybody. Let’s get vaccinated.” — William Schaffner, MD, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, discussing current knowledge about whether we will need COVID-19 boosters, stressing that some people have yet to get their first dose.