Editor's Note In this study led by researchers at New York University Langone Medical Center, New York City, a diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum disorder was associated with an increased risk for mortality in COVID-19 patients, but diagnoses of mood and anxiety disorders were not. This analysis of 7,348 adult COVID-19…

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Editor's Note A Foley & Lardner survey finds that state telehealth reimbursement laws have significantly increased during the COVID-10 pandemic, but more can be done to address telehealth adoption barriers, the February 15 Revcycle Intelligence reports. More than 43 states and Washington, DC, have some telehealth statute for commercial payers,…

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Editor's Note This survey of healthcare workers finds that stay-at-home orders issued in March 2020, resulted in worsening mood and changes in sleep, work, and behavior patterns. A total of 834 healthcare workers across 41 states who responded to the survey report that that their mood worsened, and bedtime screen…

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Editor's Note A US analysis of state and county data shows a 23% drop in new COVID-19 cases, a 16% fall in patients hospitalized, and a 1.8% decline in deaths in the week ending February 14, compared with the previous week, the February 16 Reuters reports. Nationally, 5.7% of COVID-19…

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Editor's Note Since emergency use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines in December, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) has received reports of allergic reactions including anaphylaxis. From December 14, 2020, through January 18, 2021, 9,943,247 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on February 12 updated its guidelines for K-12 school reopenings. The update provides an operational strategy for safe delivery of in-person instruction through the integration of mitigation and control components as well as public health efforts. Included are the following:…

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Editor's Note In this study led by the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, researchers find that during the early months of COVID-19, the personal and professional experiences of housestaff and faculty differed. Of 335 surgeons from five academic medical centers who completed a survey, 49.3% were housestaff and 50.7% were faculty.…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on February 8, issued a new Quick Safety addressing safe, equitable care during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Quick Safety focuses on actions organizations can take to: address racial and ethnic disparities remove barriers to providing safe, equitable healthcare. The pandemic has put a spotlight on…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers from NYU Grossman School of Medicine, Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone, New York City, finds that children in the New York City metropolitan region at the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak had higher rates of perforated appendicitis compared with historical controls. Researchers…

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Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration, on February 9, issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for Eli Lilly’s (Indianapolis, Indiana) combination therapy of two antibodies, bamlanivimab and etesevimab. The authorization is for the two antibodies to be administered together for treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in adults and…

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