Editor's Note Suspension of elective surgical procedures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York State had only a minor effect on ICU capacity, this study finds. State authorities suspended all elective surgical procedures in mid-March 2020 to increase hospital and ICU bed capacity. However, the effect of canceling…

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Editor's Note Hospitals nationwide are beginning once again to suspend elective surgical procedures in response to an increase in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, the October 30 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. The following eight hospitals are postponing or canceling surgical procedures to free up bed capacity, ensure staffing, or to make sure…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers from the department of microbiology, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong, found that COVID-19 RNA [ribonucleic acid] was not detectable by air samplers, suggesting that the airborne route is not the predominant mode of transmission. The researchers sampled air close to six asymptomatic and…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on October 28 issued an interim final rule that requires CMS to cover any COVID-19 vaccines that receive Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorization at no cost to beneficiaries. The rule also will increase what Medicare pays hospitals for COVID-19…

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Editor's Note A state’s stay-at-home orders (SAHOs) were associated with reductions in COVID-19 cases and fatality rates between March and May 2020, and a state’s number of African Americans was associated with more COVID-19 cases and fatalities in this study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Of 3,023 pooled…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on October 28 announced that beginning January 1, 2021, it is eliminating the element of performance (EP) for Infection Control Standard IC.02.04.01, which sets incremental influenza vaccination goals to try and achieve the 90% rate set by national initiatives. The US Department of Health and…

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Editor's Note In this study led by researchers from the University of Maryland School f Medicine, Baltimore, hospitalized COVID-19 patients who took low-dose aspirin daily for their heart health had a 47% lower risk of dying in the hospital than those who did not take aspirin. This retrospective analysis of…

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Editor's Note In the October 26 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, an analysis led by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of hospitalization data from 13 states found that 5.9% of adults hospitalized with COVID-19 between March 1 and May 31 were healthcare workers (HCWs). Among…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Office of Biostatistics and Epidemiology is currently developing master protocols to be used in monitoring the safety and effectiveness of a COVID-19 vaccine once it is authorized or approved, in addition to postmarket surveillance requirements, the October 22 Regulatory Focus reports. The…

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Editor's Note In this study from the Vermont Departments of Health and Corrections and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an officer at a correctional facility in Vermont was found to test positive for the COVID-19 virus on August 11 after multiple brief exposures to six infected incarcerated…

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