Maternal mortality before vs during COVID-19
Editor's Note This study by researchers at the University of Maryland, College Park, and Boston University finds that maternal deaths increased 33.3% after March 2020, which corresponds with the onset of COVID-19. This is higher than the 22% overall excess death estimate associated with the pandemic. Among the findings: 1,588…
FDA recommends updating boosters to target Omicron
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee on June 28 recommended updating the composition of COVID-19 booster vaccines to target the Omicron variant. The Committee noted that booster doses consisting of an Omicron monovalent or bivalent vaccine could improve neutralizing antibody responses…
HHS will not name hospitals where patients contracted COVID-19
Editor's Note According to Politico June 25, the Biden Administration via the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) decided not to disclose the names of individual hospitals where patients contracted COVID-19, citing “privacy concerns,” Becker’s Hospital Review June 27 reports. This stance is supported by the American Hospital Association…
Impact of COVID-19 on HAIs in Arizona
Editor's Note This study by researchers from the Arizona Department of Health finds that healthcare associated infections (HAIs) significantly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs). From 2016 through 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, Arizona acute care hospitals reported that HAIs decreased significantly: CLABSIs decreased 32%.…
Succession planning post-COVID: Identifying the right people
When Donna Doyle, DNP, RN, CNOR, NE-BC, perioperative consultant with DJD Consulting Services in Columbus, Ohio, thinks of succession planning, the British royal family comes to mind. “That is the epitome of succession planning,” she says. “You know exactly who’s in what position, who is next up, and who is…
Contrast media shortage reveals cracks in supply chain
May 2022 saw a critical shortage of the iodinated contrast medium (ICM) iohexol that extended well into June because of a COVID-19-related shutdown of a GE Healthcare plant in Shanghai, China, that interrupted the manufacture of ICM. According to the American College of Radiology, contrast media were added to the…
Hospitals can still be better prepared for natural disasters
When a natural disaster strikes—whether flood, tornado, hurricane, or wildfire—nearly every aspect of a healthcare system’s operations are impacted. There is an influx of patients in crisis and a spike in calls for emergency services. There are logistical problems—impassable roads, power outages, and communication and internet breakdowns. Supply chain disruptions…
CDC: US COVID-19 cases, deaths declining
Editor's Note According to the June 24 Becker’s Hospital Review, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) latest US COVID-19 statistics include the following: As of June 23, the 7-day average for newly reported COVID-19 cases dropped 5.6% to 97,430. The weekly average for COVID-19 related deaths dropped by…
Newer COVID-19 subvariants show substantial escape from vaccination, previous infection immunity
Editor's Note In a letter published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, report that the three Omicron subvariants (BA.2.12.1, BA.4, and BA.5) currently dominant in the US substantially escape neutralizing antibodies induced by both vaccination and previous COVID-19 infection. The researchers…
Machine learning model uses data from wearable devices to detect COVID-19 in HCWs
Editor's Note Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York City, have developed a machine learning model that uses physiological metrics collected from wearable devices that can detect and predict COVID-19 in healthcare workers (HCWs). A total of 407 HCWs from 7 hospitals were enrolled in the…
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