Editor's Note Since emergency use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines in December, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) has received reports of allergic reactions including anaphylaxis. From December 14, 2020, through January 18, 2021, 9,943,247 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on February 12 updated its guidelines for K-12 school reopenings. The update provides an operational strategy for safe delivery of in-person instruction through the integration of mitigation and control components as well as public health efforts. Included are the following:…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on February 8, issued a new Quick Safety addressing safe, equitable care during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Quick Safety focuses on actions organizations can take to: address racial and ethnic disparities remove barriers to providing safe, equitable healthcare. The pandemic has put a spotlight on…

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Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration, on February 9, issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for Eli Lilly’s (Indianapolis, Indiana) combination therapy of two antibodies, bamlanivimab and etesevimab. The authorization is for the two antibodies to be administered together for treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in adults and…

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Editor's Note This study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence of current depression, increased or newly initiated substance use, and suicidal thoughts/ideation has been higher for some racial and ethnic minority groups, especially Hispanics. A survey of 1,004 US…

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Editor's Note The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a substantial decline in cardiac surgery volume and an unexplained increase in deaths after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), finds this study presented January 30 at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS). Researchers from the University of California,…

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Editor's Note Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said on February 3 that new COVID-19 cases in the US had fallen to pre-Thanksgiving levels, and the infection rates were continuing to decline, the February 3 The Hill reports. COVID-19 cases and hospital admissions appear…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that the COVID-19 pandemic mitigation measures and social and economic impacts affected the rate of emergency department (ED) visits for patients with mental health, substance abuse, and violence issues.  Total ED visits decreased after…

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Editor's Note On February 11, the federal government will begin distributing 1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to 6,500 retail pharmacy stores, and this could expand to some 40,000 stores, according to a February 2 statement from the White House. These doses are in addition to the 10.5 million that…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on February 2 issued the first in a series of special edition Sentinel Event Alerts that addresses concerns received from healthcare workers about the COVID-19 pandemic. “Sentinal Event Alert 62: Health care workers in the midst of crisis” provides examples to help healthcare organizations respond…

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