Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on February 25, issued new recommendations on when masks should be worn by the public. Under the new guidelines: In communities with “low” or “medium” levels of COVID-19, masks are not recommended for the general public, which is now more…

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Editor's Note According to a February 28 Politico article, titled “Want a COVID-19 vaccine exemption? It can be as easy as copy and paste,” hospital executives are starting to doubt the integrity of religious exemption requests, Becker’s Hospital Review reports. According to the Politico article, submitting a religious exemption is…

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Editor's Note According to a study in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, COVID-19 increases the risk of and may contribute to new-onset diabetes among children and adolescents, JAMA reports.  JAMA’s February 22 article notes that data from previous studies showed an average of 14% of adults hospitalized with COVID-19…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on February 23 released the “Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States” report for 2020, after analyzing data from the National Vital Statistics System and calculating mortality rates as the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. The report…

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Editor's Note According to the February 16 Becker’s Hospital Review, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xiaver Becerra said the Biden administration is estimating it will need some $30 billion to continue to fight against COVID-19. Another HHS representative told Politico the funding is needed "for additional resources to support…

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Editor's Note In an analysis published on February 12 by the New England Journal of Medicine, findings indicate that since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, incidents of healthcare-associated infections and other patient safety complications have been on the rise, Becker’s Hospital Review reports. According to the analysis authors, there…

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Each year, there are more studies raising concerns about infections associated with endoscopic procedures and the techniques used to clean and sterilize or high-level disinfect (HLD) endoscopic devices. In this article, in partnership with Boston Scientific, epidemiologist Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, president and CEO of Ofstead & Associates, St Paul,…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School finds that treatment for COVID-19 should be based on clinical judgment and not just testing. Between April and October 2020, the researchers looked at four groups: 40 patients who were RT-PCR confirmed positive 20 patients who repeatedly tested…

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Editor's Note This pilot project, by epidemiologist Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, and colleagues finds that routine reprocessing activities generate substantial splashing and droplet dispersal, and that currently recommended items of personal protective equipment (PPE) do not adequately protect personnel from exposure. The researchers found that: Droplets were generated during every…

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  Editor's Note A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) national survey analysis found that a recommendation from a healthcare provider may help increase COVID-19 vaccination rates, according to a February 8 report in JAMA. The survey, analyzed in the December 17, 2021, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, titled…

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