Effect of open schools on child, teacher COVID-19 morbidity in Sweden
Editor's Note In mid-March 2020, when many countries closed schools in an attempt to limit the spread of COVID-19, Sweden decided to keep preschools with children 1-6 years of age and schools with children 7-16 years of age open. In this January 6, 2021, letter to the editor, researchers from…
Joint Commission issues update on offsite surveys, reviews
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on January 6, 2020, issued an update on offsite surveys and reviews, noting that it had stopped most onsite surveys and reviews from March 16 to May 31, 2020. During that time they developed processes for conducting offsite or virtual events. As of mid-December, more…
CDC: Allergic reactions after receipt of first dose of Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna COVID-19 vaccines
Editor's Note From December 14 to December 23, 2020, monitoring by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System found 4,393 (0.2%) adverse events after administration of 1,893,360 first doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Of these adverse events, 21 were determined to be cases…
Joint Commission questionnaire identifies COVID-19 impact on organizations
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on January 6, 2021, reported on an online questionnaire sent to organizations in September 2020 to learn about their challenges and needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 735 respondents, representing a variety of healthcare settings, reported: a medium to high impact on their…
Risk factors linked to mortality in nursing home residents with COVID-19
Editor’s Note In this study of nursing home residents with COVID-19, increased age, male gender, and impaired cognitive and physical function were independent risk factors for all-cause 30-day mortality. Of 5,256 nursing home residents with COVID-19 in 351 US nursing homes: Odds of death were 1.46 times higher for residents…
CDC updates number of distributed COVID-19 vaccine doses
Editor’s Note As of January 5, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the number of distributed COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna is 17,020,575 doses, with 4,836,469 already administered.
FEMA extends rule limiting exports of scarce PPE
Editor’s Note The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), on December 31, 2020, posted in the Federal Register that it had extended its temporary final rule, “Prioritization and Allocation of Certain Scarce and Critical Health and Medical Resources for Domestic Use,” with changes, through June 30, 2021. The rule designates certain…
CDC: Updated interim recommendation for allocation of COVID-19 vaccine
Editor’s Note On December 20, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) updated its interim vaccine allocation recommendations. In Phase 1b, COVID-19 vaccine should be offered to persons aged 75 years or more and non-healthcare frontline essential workers. In Phase 1c, the vaccine should be…
Take our survey to win a gift card
Editor’s Note The Kilmer Innovations in Packaging (KIIP) group seeks your feedback on sterile medical device packaging. This group is passionate about sterile packaging and its role in the delivery of sterile, safe-to-use medical devices. We invite you to take a brief survey for a chance to win a $50…
US public’s likelihood of getting COVID-19 vaccine
Editor's Note This study, led by researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, analyzed biweekly nationally representative survey data to describe changes over time in the public’s likelihood of getting a COVID-19 vaccine. Among 8,167 respondents, the likelihood of getting a COVID-19 vaccine declined from 74% in early April…