Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, on December 1, recommended prioritizing healthcare workers and residents and workers in long-term-care facilities to be the first recipients of the upcoming COVID-19 vaccines. If CDC director Robert Redfield, MD, approves the recommendations, and the…

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Editor's Note On November 30, Moderna applied for an emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for its COVID-19 vaccine. Moderna’s vaccine was developed in collaboration with researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, where Anthony Fauci, MD, is the director. Moderna is…

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Editor's Note This study of 1,848 US Marine Corps recruits finds that despite social distancing, wearing masks, regular handwashing, and other public health measures including strict quarantine, recruits contracted COVID-19 and spread it to others, even though hardly any of them had symptoms. Study participants were told to isolate themselves…

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Most respondents to a July 2020 American Organization for Nursing Leadership survey said they felt prepared for a future surge of COVID-19. That future is now, with nearly 150,000 new cases being reported daily across the country and multiple hospitals at capacity. Survey respondents said their biggest challenges early in…

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Editor's Note The number of children’s mental health emergency department (ED) visits decreased sharply from mid-March through early April 2020, coincident with the implementation of community mitigation measures enacted to prevent COVID-19 transmission, and then visits increased steadily through October, this study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…

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Editor's Note Moderna Inc (Cambridge, Massachusetts) on November 16 announced that its vaccine is 94.5% effective at preventing COVID-19. Their analysis of a 30,000-person trial (half received the vaccine and half received a placebo) finds that 90 of the 95 COVID-19 documented cases are in the placebo group. The Moderna announcement…

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Editor's Note In this analysis of COVID-19 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the proportion of preterm live births in women with COVID-19 infection during pregnancy was higher than that in the general population in 2019, suggesting that pregnant women with COVID-19 infection might be at risk…

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Editor's Note Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has announced plans to test their COVID-19 vaccine in young individuals between the ages of 12 and 18, the October 30 Reuters reports. J&J started testing its vaccine in 60,000 volunteer adults in late September. Depending on safety, J&J also plans to test the…

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Editor's Note In the October 26 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, an analysis led by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of hospitalization data from 13 states found that 5.9% of adults hospitalized with COVID-19 between March 1 and May 31 were healthcare workers (HCWs). Among…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Office of Biostatistics and Epidemiology is currently developing master protocols to be used in monitoring the safety and effectiveness of a COVID-19 vaccine once it is authorized or approved, in addition to postmarket surveillance requirements, the October 22 Regulatory Focus reports. The…

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