Flu vaccination rate at BJC HealthCare rises dramatically due to mandatory policy
Making flu shots mandatory in 2008 dramatically increased the vaccination rate among St. Louis-based BJC HealthCare’s nearly 26,000 employees to more than 98 percent, according to a study led by the School of Medicine and now online in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
Triple threat polymer captures and releases
David Kilper/WUSTL PhotoKaren L. Wooley and lab members examine polymer samples.A chemist at Washington University in St. Louis has developed a remarkable nanostructured material that can repel pests, sweeten the air, and some day might even be used as a timed drug delivery system — as a nasal spray, for instance. Karen L. Wooley, Ph.D., Washington University James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in Arts & Sciences, has taken the same materials that she developed more than four years ago as marine “antifouling” coatings that inhibit marine organisms such as barnacles from attaching to the hull of ships to now capture fragrance molecules and release them at room temperature. More…