FDA: Class I recall of North American Diagnosticsโ COVID-19 test
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on August 1 identified the recall by North American Diagnostics of its Oral Rapid SARS-CoV-2 Rapid Antigen Test Kits as Class I, the most serious. These tests are being recalled because they were distributed in the US without authorization, clearance, or approval…
Views on harassing, threatening public health officials during COVID-19
Editor's Note This study led by researchers from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, finds that factors linked to support for harassing and threatening of public health officials during COVID-19 included political and sociodemographic explanations, but antagonism also increased among those supportive of science and better equipped to…
Healthcare employment up in July
Editor's Note Overall healthcare employment in the US was up in July to a seasonally adjusted 16,412,100 workers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on August 5. Thatโs up 69,600 since June. Hospital employment also was up by 12,900 jobs. The overall unemployment rate for March was 3.5%, for a…
US uninsured rate reaches all-time low
Editor's Noteย The number of Americans without health insurance coverage has hit a record low of 8% this year, exceeding the previous low of 9% in 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services July 3 reports. Since 2020, 5.2 million people have gained coverage, including 4 million adults and…
Research shows new antibody protection against malaria
Editor's Noteย US government researchers found that lab-engineered antibody has protected the majority of participants from the malaria parasite, including those who received a higher dosage of the antibody, US News & World August 4 reports. The antibody can also be given with a standard injection, instead of the typical…
ECRI announces 2022 Healthcare Supply Chain Excellence Award winners
Editor's Note On August 3, ECRI announced the winners of its eleventh annual Healthcare Supply Chain Excellence Award. The award recognizes healthcare organizations that achieve excellence in overall spend management and that adopt best practice solutions into their supply chain processes. The eleven winners are: Broward Health, Fort Lauderdale, Florida…
Effectiveness of face shields for COVID-19 protection
Editor's Note This study led by researchers in the UK finds that face shields do not give high levels of protection against external droplet contamination. The researchers compared 13 styles of face shields in controlled laboratory settings, using a โcoughing machineโ that ejected fluorescent drops onto manikin heads. Among the…
Last nursing diploma program in Missouri closes
Editor's Note After 124 years, the Lutheran School of Nursing in St Louis has closed, the August 1 St Louis Post-Dispatch reports. The School was the last nursing diploma program in Missouri. On July 27, South City Hospitalโs CEO wrote a letter to faculty announcing the news, citing enrollment and…
COVID-19 infection risk on airlines
Editor's Note In this study, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, calculate the chances of catching COVID-19 on a US plane flight. The study estimates that from June 2020 through February 2021, the probability of getting COVID-19 on a totally full flight lasting 2 hours was more than…
The New Perioperative Growth Playbook: Six Winning Strategies Using Automation
Surgical revenue is more important than ever. But your growth is constrained by manual processes and tools โ theyโre holding you back from using your OR resources as effectively as you could, resulting in an incredible opportunity cost. Fortunately, advances in AI and automation can enable you to break out…