Editor's Note The Association for Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI), on January 20, released four amendments to the “ANSI/AAMI ST79 Comprehensive guide to steam sterilization and sterility assurance in healthcare facilities.” Among the additions: recommendations and clarifications for maintaining the integrity of the sterile processing area, including common sense additions,…

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Editor's Note A study, led by researchers from Rockefeller University in New York City, finds that volunteers vaccinated with either the Moderna or the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine will be protected against new variants of the COVID-19 virus. The researchers tested plasma taken from 20 volunteers who had received both doses of…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on January 20, announced that data collection for a new standardized performance measure assessing a patient’s functional and health status postoperatively will be required for the Advanced Certification for Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement (THKR) program. Organizations will be required to assess a patient’s…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers from the Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, finds that COVID-19 vaccine-related messaging should address concerns about the vaccine and its development and reinforce its benefits to increase the willingness of US adults to get the COVID-19 vaccine and to get the vaccine under an…

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Information about COVID-19 transmission and treatment has evolved between the time this infectious disease first emerged and now. As evidence-based knowledge grows and protocols change, and as populations are vaccinated to develop herd immunity, there is increasing optimism about the ability to combat the virus. Meanwhile, it is important to…

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The rollout of COVID-19 vaccines starting in December 2020 was the one bright spot in an otherwise tragic year with a rapidly rising death toll currently over 385,000. Distribution of the 20 million doses promised by year end was thwarted by problems such as lack of coordination and lack of…

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The financial impact of COVID-19 on healthcare providers has been considerable. With experts predicting that half of all US hospitals would be operating in the red by the end of 2020, healthcare leaders have had to seek multiple ways to cut costs. The expansion of single-use medical device (SUD) reprocessing…

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The 2021 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS)/ASC Final Payment Rule was released on December 1, 2020, and became effective as of January 1, 2021. Gina Throneberry, MBA, RN, CASC, CNOR, director of education and clinical affairs, Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA), summarized the status of Medicare regulations and…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers from Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, finds that in the first 9 weeks of in-person classes in North Carolina schools, there was extremely limited within-school secondary transmissions of COVID-19. The researchers examined 11 school districts with more than 90,000 students…

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Editor's Note Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert R. Redfield, MD, on January 12, signed an order to expand the requirement for a negative COVID-19 test to all airline passengers entering the US. The order, which will become effective January 26, requires that: Airline passengers get a…

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