Editor's Note Universal COVID-19 testing of children before they have general anesthesia promotes efficient use of personal protective equipment (PPE), finds this study presented October 3 at the Anesthesiology 2020 annual meeting. Overall, 1,033 children who had anesthesia at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia between March 26 and May 11, 2020,…

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Editor's Note This survey by researchers at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, between April 23 and 27, finds the public’s preferences for allocating a COVID-19 vaccine consistent with experts’ recommendations that offer vaccine priority to groups defined by age, risk of dying, and employment type. Of 1,007 American adults surveyed:…

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Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on August 27 (updated September 2) issued a warning about alcohol-based hand sanitizers packaged in containers that may appear as food or drinks and could put consumers at risk of serious injury or death if ingested.( https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/covid-19-update-fda-warns-consumers-about-hand-sanitizer-packaged-food-and-drink-containers ) Some hand sanitizers are…

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Editor's Note Preliminary findings in Moderna’s (Cambridge, Massachusetts) COVID-19 trial show the vaccine elicits strong immune system responses in older adults similar to responses in younger recipients, and adverse events associated with the vaccine are mainly mild or moderate. In its expansion to include older adults, the trial enrolled 40…

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Editor's Note A new study led by the University of Georgia (UGA) Center for Vaccines and Immunology will determine what protection the body develops after infection with COVID-19. The researchers also will examine immunological, demographic, and medical risk factors and the part they play in recovery and outcomes. Participants, which…

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Editor's Note This study presented September 24 at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Conference on Coronavirus Disease finds that the initial SARS-CoV-2 viral load (VL) in nasopharyngeal samples has been decreasing as the pandemic progresses. The researchers from Wayne State University/Detroit Medical Center, Detroit, Michigan, also…

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Editor's Note In this Letter to the Editor, physicians from the Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India, address the problem of treating a healthcare worker (HCW) who passes out in the OR during a surgical procedure on a COVID-19 patient. The…

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Editor's Note The American Hospital Association (AHA) announced September 26 that it has launched a new webpage that comprises AHA-developed tools and resources from the federal government and others related to COVID-19 vaccines. The AHA will update the webpage often as new developments occur to keep the healthcare field informed…

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Editor's Note This meta-analysis by researchers in Switzerland and Columbia finds that healthcare workers (HCWs) exhibit a high prevalence of COVID-19 infection, with a significant proportion of them being asymptomatic carriers. This favors silent transmission in clinical and community settings. The meta-analysis comprised 97 studies published in 2020, and 230,398…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on September 23 announced that it is seeking feedback on proposed requirements for its Advanced Certification in Spine Surgery. In collaboration with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the Joint Commission developed the proposed spine surgery related requirements to include: program structure delivery of care…

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