Editor's Note In this study, researchers from Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, find that more healthcare workers (HCWs) were exposed to COVID-19 by coworkers than patients, and lapses in infection prevention practices increased transmission risk. Between June and December 2020, 2,357 HCWs were involved in occupational…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers at the US Army Institute of Surgical Research and the Brooke Army Medical Center JBSA Fort Sam Houston, Texas, finds that a Texas state-level mask mandate issued July 3, 2020, followed by a Bexar County-level mandate issued July 15, 2020, did not reduce…

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Editor's Note This Israeli study finds that exposure to COVID-19- positive household members was a risk factor associated with COVID-19 infection in vaccinated healthcare workers (HCWs). Of 171 HCWs analyzed, exposure to a positive household member was significantly more common among vaccinated HCWs who were COVID-19-positive (56%) than nonvaccinated HCWs…

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Editor's Note This study of healthcare workers (HCWs) at the University of Kentucky Healthcare in Lexington finds a low and similar antibody positivity rate between HCWs and patients. Of 322 HCWs, 5 were antibody positive for an overall rate of 1.55%. The antibody positivity rate of COVID-19 infected patients at…

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Editor's Note A new experimental study by engineering researchers in the Fluid Mechanics Research Laboratory at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, finds that most cloth and disposable masks (3-ply cotton and 3-ply blue pseudo-surgical masks) filter only 10% of exhaled aerosol droplets because of fit. The remaining aerosols are…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers at South Dakota State University in Brookings found that only 15% of healthcare workers (HCWs) in three rural communities had antibodies to COVID-19 over an 8-month period before vaccines came out. From May 13 through December 22, 2020, 336 volunteers at five healthcare…

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Editor's Note Coronavirus sequencing research at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine has uncovered several COVID-19 variants present in its patient population, but Delta is the top one and easily transmitted. Though the researchers had identified just two cases of the Delta variant in Miami-Dade County a month…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Massachusetts Department of Public Health finds that people vaccinated against COVID-19 can carry as much coronavirus as those who are unvaccinated. After multiple large public events in a Barnstable County, Massachusetts town, 469…

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Editor's Note This study from two university hospitals in the Netherlands finds that healthcare workers (HCWs) on hospital COVID-19 wards are at increased risk for nosocomial COVID-19 infections and play an important role in HCW-to-HCW transmission. Of 801 hospital HCWs analyzed, 439 worked in patient care for those with COVID-19,…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on July 27 released new guidance recommending that “fully vaccinated people wear masks in public indoor settings” in areas with high COVID-19 transmission rates. The CDC cited data showing that some vaccinated people who tested positive for the Delta variant…

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