Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), issued updated guidance on March 10 to help nursing homes safely expand visitation options during the COVID-19 pandemic. The updated guidance says nursing homes “should allow responsible indoor visitation…

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Editor's Note A new international study with more than 15,000 coauthors from 116 countries concludes that surgical procedures should be delayed for 7 weeks after a patient tests positive for COVID-19, to reduce postoperative mortality risk. The analysis of 140,231 patients undergoing surgical procedures in 1,674 hospitals in October 2020…

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Editor's Note The number of new COVID-19 cases in the US dropped 12%, deaths fell 18%, and hospitalizations declined 16% last week, the March 8 Reuters reports. At the same time, an average of 2.2 million COVID-19 vaccines were administered each day, up from 1.6 million the week before. Despite…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on March 8 released interim recommendations saying that people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can safely gather with fully vaccinated people from other households without wearing masks or physical distancing. They also can visit indoors with unvaccinated people from…

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Editor's Note A study by the Riken research institute and Kobe University using Fugaku, the world’s fastest supercomputer, finds that wearing two masks offers little benefit in preventing the spread of COVID-19 compared to one well-fitted disposable mask, the March 4 Reuters reports. The researchers found that tightly-fitted surgical masks…

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Editor's Note This multi-center study finds that critical vitreoretinal surgical procedures deemed as urgent or emergency decreased nationwide from March until May 2020, even though the American Academy of Ophthalmology said these procedures should continue during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected from 17 institutions throughout the US. Compared to…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on March 3 announced that it is extending the reduced volume eligibility requirements for its advanced Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Center (TSC) and Comprehensive Stroke Center (CSC) certification programs through May 31 because the number of patients seeking care for strokes continues to vary because of COVID-19.…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced March 3 that it has asked 25 firms to stop producing and issuing misleading “FDA registration certificates” and FDA logos that create the impression the FDA has approved or authorized their products. The firms include mask, respirator, face shield, and other…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 1 identified the recall by Medtronic of its HeartWare Ventricular Assist Device (HVAD) Pump Implant Kits as Class I, the most serious. The kit is part of the HeartWare HVAD System, which is used to help the heart pump blood…

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Editor's Note Nurse staffing expert Linda Aiken, PhD, RN, FAAN, testified at the New York State (NYS) Health Committee budget hearing on February 25 about her research on staffing levels in New York State. Among her research findings: Each patient reduction in nurses’ workloads was associated with a 13% decrease…

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