Editor's Note As of Monday, June 22, 150,424,675 Americans had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (45.3% of the population), and 177,635,067 had received at least one dose (53.5% of the population), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports. This tally includes two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer…

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Editor's Note This systematic review, meta-analysis, and trial sequential analysis by UK researchers find that the FDA-approved, anti-parasitic drug ivermectin could reduce COVID-19 related deaths and infections. The data showed: The use of ivermectin to treat patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 reduced risk of death by an average of 62%. The…

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Editor's Note The American Medical Association (AMA) has released a new survey of 301 US practicing physicians that shows 96% have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Of those not yet vaccinated, 45% plan to do so. Vaccination rates did not differ across: primary care physicians (98%) or specialists (95%) regions—North…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, finds that healthcare worker (HCW) reported COVID-19 symptoms can be used to estimate hospital demand in the communities where they live. This analysis includes 6,481 HCWs who worked at 1 hospital and lived within a 10-hospital service…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on June 21 announced new and revised sprinkler head requirements, effective immediately, for critical access hospitals, hospitals, and behavioral healthcare and human services organizations (LS.02.01.35, EP7). The sprinkler head requirement also have been added for ambulatory healthcare occupancies (LS.03.01.35, EP 7) and inpatient hospice facilities…

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Editor's Note This study from the VA Boston Healthcare System finds an association between receipt of Moderna’s mRNA-1273 vaccine and a reduction in COVID-19 infections in healthcare workers (HCWs) beginning 8 days after the first dose. In this analysis of 4,028 HCWs, 3,367 were vaccinated during the study period. Of…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission posted a reminder on June 16 that applications for the new Bernard J. Tyson National Award program from The Joint Commission and Kaiser Permanente are open until July 8. The award recognizes healthcare organizations and their partners that achieved a measurable, sustained reduction in one…

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Editor's Note In this study, researchers from the University of California, San Diego, developed an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm to identify signature genes that forecast the severity of a viral infection immune response including that of COVID-19. The researchers analyzed more than 45,000 datasets from viral pandemics in humans, mice,…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on June 16 that the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) has launched a new Medication Safety Self Assessment for perioperative settings to gauge how well organizations are doing in protecting surgical patients from medication errors. The new tool, which is for hospitals, ambulatory…

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Editor's Note This observational study by researchers at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, Livingston, New Jersey, and the Smith Center for Infectious Diseases & Urban Health, East Orange, New Jersey, finds that the use of weight-adjusted hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and azithromycin (AZM) improved the odds of survival of ventilated COVID-19 patients by…

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