Study: COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness in children varies by age, variant
Editor's Note According to a multi-institutional study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, titled โEffectiveness of 2-Dose BNT162b2 (Pfizer BioNTech) mRNA Vaccine in Preventing SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Children Aged 5โ11 Years and Adolescents Aged 12โ15 Yearsโ and published on March 18, two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine…
Happy National Nurses Month
Editor's Note In 2020, the American Nurses Association expanded National Nurses Week to National Nurses Month to increase opportunities to elevate and celebrate nursing. National Nurses Week begins on May 6 and ends on May 12, Florence Nightingaleโs birthday. The theme this year is โNurses Make a Difference.โ The American…
African Americans views on COVID-19 testing, contact tracing
Editor's Note This study from Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee, finds that COVID-19 testing and contact tracing are beneficial among African Americans, but mistrust, COVID-19 stigma, location, and perceived costs are major barriers. Of 62 study participants, the majority (69.4%) were female, had never been tested (62.9%), and had an…
Joint Commission approves COVID-19 vaccination standard for HCWs
Editor's Note In response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) interim final rule regarding COVID-19 vaccinations for healthcare workers (HCWs), The Joint Commission has approved a new Infection Prevention and Control (IC) Standard IC.02.04.02 and new elements of performance, the regulator announced on April 27. The new…
FDA alerts healthcare providers of airway device potential risk
Editor's Note In a letter to healthcare providers published on April 27, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) alerted it is evaluating the potential risk of airway obstruction when using silicone-based electromyogram (EMG) endotracheal tubes (Medtronic NIM Standard Reinforced EMG Endotracheal Tube and Medtronic NIM Contact Reinforced EMG Endotracheal…
Survey: 75% of healthcare leaders dissatisfied with their digital health plans
Editor's Note In a survey of 100 health system executives conducted by Sage Growth Partners in February 2022 and published in Panda Healthโs Hospital Digital Health Technology Report: 2022, more than 90% of the health systems surveyed said โa strong digital health strategy is essential to improving clinical outcomes, boosting…
HHS announces new measures to expand access to healthcare coverage in 2023
Editor's Note In an April 28 news release, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), announced new measures that will allow American consumers to more easily find affordable healthcare coverage on HealthCare.gov during the next Open Enrollment Period, which will…
Dr Fauci explains โout of the pandemic phaseโ comment
Editor's Note Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, and chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, said in an April 26 interview with PBS NewsHour that "we are certainly right now in this country out of the pandemic phase,"…
Joint Commission study: Likelihood of clinicians overprescribing antibiotics when distressed
Editor's Note In this study, titled โClinician Distress and Inappropriate Antibiotic Prescribing for Acute Respiratory Tract Infections [RTIs]: A Retrospective Cohort Studyโ and published in the May 2022 issue of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, the researchers examined the association between clinician distress and the inappropriate…
CA hospitals lost some $20 billion during pandemic
Editor's Note According to a Kaufman Hall study, titled "Analysis: California Hospitals Endured Significant Financial Strain in 2021," published on April 19, and commissioned by the California Hospital Association, California hospitals collectively lost nearly $6 billion, โroughly three times the $2.2 billion that had been projected,โ in 2021 and $14…