Pfizer seeks emergency authorization of second booster for older adults
Editor's Note On March 15, Pfizer and BioNTech submitted an emergency use authorization request to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a second booster dose of their COVID-19 vaccine for adults aged 65 and older who have already received a booster of an approved COVID-10 vaccine. The two companies…
Study: People with immunity to original COVID-19 likely to have protection against Omicron
Editor's Note There is a growing concern that ongoing evolution of COVID-19 could lead to variants that are capable of avoiding some or all of the immune response generated by prior infection or vaccination. To this end, Johns Hopkins researchers examined whether mutations in the Omicron variant gave it the…
CDC: Omicron subvariant BA.2 makes up 23.1% of US COVID-19 cases
Editor's Note As of March 12, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that the Omicron BA.2 subvariant was responsible for 23.1% of all COVID-19 cases in the US, the March 15 Reuters reports. The subvariant is behind about 39% of cases in the Northeast, New York, and…
FDA: Class I recall of certain Baxter infusion pumps, systems
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on March 11, designated the recall by Baxter of its SIGMA Spectrum Infusion Pumps with Master Drug Library (Version 8) and Spectrum IQ Infusion Systems with Dose IQ Safety Software (Version 9) as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated…
The Joint Commission releases statement standing with Ukraine
Editor's Note On March 15, The Joint Commission released a statement expressing support for Ukraine, saying the enterprise โis devastated by the horrorโ of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. According to the statement, the World Health Organization โhas identified at least 31 attacks on Ukrainian healthcare organizationsโ as of March 13, meaning…
Survey: 10 things younger nurse workforce want from employers
Editor's Note A survey from the American Nurses Foundation and marketing firm Joslin Insight, published on March 1, shows that many Generation Z and Millennial nurses are struggling with their mental health at work, and that about 60% say they will leave or are considering leaving their positions, Beckerโs Hospital…
Arkansas health system nurse retreat good for mental health
Editor's Note At the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), UAMS Health, Little Rock, Arkansas, a half-day retreat for frontline nurses got instituted by Trenda Ray, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, UAMS Health's chief nursing officer and associate vice chancellor for patient care services, Health Leaders March 14 reports. The retreat…
OSHA to increase inspections in facilities treating COVID-19 patients
Editor's Note The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), on March 7, announced a short-term increase in highly focused inspections directed at hospitals and skilled nursing care facilities that care for COVID-19 patients. OSHAโs goal is to ensure continued mitigation efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 and future variants…
Several states considering bills to protect HCWs from assault
Editor's Note Pleas by some states to be kind to healthcare workers (HCWs), who are exhausted and burned out from caring for COVID-19 patients, have expanded to bills that would offer protection for HCWs against physical or verbal assault as well as other forms of abuse like doxxing, the March…
COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness against Omicron variant
Editor's Note This study from the UK finds that primary immunization with two doses of COVID-19 vaccine provided limited protection against the Omicron variant. A booster substantially increased protection, but that waned over time. Included in the analysis are 886,774 Omicron variant infected patients, 204,154 Delta variant infected patients, and…