Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on April 2, updated its information for travelers to say people who are fully vaccinated can travel safely within the US. The update notes that fully vaccinated travelers do not have to be tested before or after travel unless required…

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The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of respiratory protection in healthcare settings and in the community. Healthcare workers at high risk of infection need the most effective respiratory protection, and not all surgical masks and respirators are alike. Checking for proper fit, donning and doffing correctly, and following manufacturers’…

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The Janssen Biotech, Inc/Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on February 27, joining the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines that received EUA in December 2020. In early March, President Biden said that the US would produce enough COVID-19 vaccines…

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This issue of OR Manager is being published just about a year after the nationwide shutdown that was implemented to curb the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Failures on many fronts ensued in the months that followed, with an excessive death toll and unprecedented disruptions in every…

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Editor's Note This study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that COVID-19 vaccination coverage was lower in high vulnerability counties in the US than in low vulnerability counties (13.9% vs 15.8%), which was largely driven by socioeconomic disparities. The same pattern was found for social vulnerability…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston finds no significant difference in COVID-19 cases in students and staff at schools observing 6-feet and 3-feet social distancing rules. Researchers compared incident cases of COVID-19 in 537,336 students and 99,390 staff in 251…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that obesity increases the risk for severe COVID-19-associated illness. Of 148,494 US adults with confirmed COVID-19 treated at 238 hospitals included in the study, 28.3% were overweight and 50.8% were obese. Severely obese adults…

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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 5 released a study showing mask mandates were responsible for a decrease in COVID-19 case growth rates by 0.5% after 20 days and by 1.8% after 100 days. Mask mandates also were associated with a 0.7% decrease in…

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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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