CDC: Effectiveness of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna vaccines in preventing COVID-19-related hospitalizations
Editor's Note In this study, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna were 94% effective in preventing hospitalizations in US adults aged 65 and older who were fully vaccinated. The vaccines were 64% effective at preventing hospitalization in…
The Joint Commission offers new COVID-19 resources
Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on April 28, announced that it has developed a new COVID-19 vaccine resources page to help consumers make a more informed decision about getting vaccinated. The page provides insights from experts about the vaccines, resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and sample…
CDC: COVID-19 exposure reduction via physically distanced seating in aircraft cabins
Editor's Note This study by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that, based on a data-driven model, keeping middle seats in aircraft cabins vacant could reduce exposure to COVID-19. Compared with full aircraft occupancy, exposures to viable virus particles in scenarios when middle seats were…
CDC revises mask guidelines for fully vaccinated people
Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on April 27, announced new interim public health recommendations on activities fully vaccinated people can resume with and without wearing a mask. Among the recommendations: Fully vaccinated people can attend small gatherings outdoors with other vaccinated people or a mix…
Comparison of COVID-19 rates before, after school reopenings in Israel
Editor's Note This study from Israel finds that children aged 0 to 9 years did not have substantial rates of COVID-19 infection during school attendance periods, and they did not have a substantial role in COVID-19 spread. Researchers analyzed data from 47,620 children aged 0 to 9 years; 101,304 youths…
FDA: Class I recall of Cordis Precise PRO Rx US Carotid System
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on April 26, identified the recall by Cordis Corporation of its Precise PRO Rx US Carotid System as Class I, the most serious. The Carotid System is being recalled due to a risk of separation of the atraumatic distal tip of the…
Study: 6-ft rule inadequate to mitigate indoor airborne transmission of COVID-19
Editor's Note This study by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, finds that the transmission risk of COVID-19 is reduced in large rooms with high air exchange rates, increased with vigorous respiratory activities, and reduced with face masks. The researchers developed a method of calculating exposure risk to…
FDA, CDC lift pause on J&J COVID-19 vaccine
Editor's Note The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on April 23, announced that after a thorough safety review, the pause on the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine should be lifted, and use of the vaccine should resume. The pause was…
Attacks against healthcare workers on the rise in COVID-19 era
Editor's Note A week and a half after Chicago’s COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, a nurse taking a bus home after her shift was attacked by another passenger because she coughed into the crook of her arm. The nurse was wearing a mask, and she was dressed in scrubs, and she…
FDA: Class I recall of Medtronic’s Extracorporeal Blood Pumping Console
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on April 20, identified the recall of Medtronic’s Bio-Console 560 Extracorporeal Blood Pumping Console as Class I, the most serious. The Console is used during heart surgery to pump and return blood to a patient during cardiopulmonary bypass. The recall was initiated…