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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers from the department of anesthesiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and the department of perioperative services-nursing, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, both in New York City, describes how OR and anesthesia personnel converted 23 ORs into an 82-bed operating room intensive care unit (ORICU), ensured staff…

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Editor's Note Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic are leading a coalition of 60 hospitals and healthcare institutions in a nationwide campaign to encourage adults to get vaccinated against COVID-19, Cleveland Clinic announced in an April 20 news release. The “Get the Vaccine to Save Lives” campaign is designed to reassure…

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Editor's Note In this JAMA Insights article, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, and University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, conclude that increasing air changes per hour and air filtration are simple concepts that could be used to help reduce within-room, far-field (ie, within-room but beyond 6 feet)…

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