Editor's Note The World Health Organization (WHO), on April 11, added two new subvariants of  the COVID-19 Omicron variant to its monitoring list—BA.4 and BA.5, Reuters reports. WHO is tracking a few dozen cases to assess whether they are more infectious or dangerous than the original BA.1 Omicron variant. WHO…

Read More

Editor's Note Data from the National Center for Health Statistics shows a 0.4% decline in cesarean and induced deliveries for preterm births during the COVID-10 pandemic lockdown, between March and December 2020, according to researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta. The researchers also noted other birth trends, including…

Read More

Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) COVID-19 data tracker weekly review published April 8 shows that cases are rising again nationwide, for the first time since January, the April 8 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. The 7-day case average as of April 6 was 26,596, which is…

Read More

Editor's Note In this study, researchers from the University of Washington, Seattle, and University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, find that turnover among nearly all segments of the healthcare workforce has not yet fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, with turnover rates among long-term care workers and physicians worsening over time. Of…

Read More

Editor's Note Researchers at the University of Florida (UF) have helped develop a testing device that can detect COVID-19 infection within 30 seconds, with the sensitivity and accuracy of a PCR test. The hand-held device is powered by a 9-volt battery and uses test strips similar to those used in…

Read More

Editor's Note In a briefing room release titled Memorandum on Addressing the Long-Term Effects of COVID-⁠19 published on April 5, President Joe Biden tasked Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra “to coordinate the federal response to the long-term health effects of COVID-19,” the American Hospital Association April 6…

Read More

Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on April 5 released a memorandum and guidance on complying with its interim final rule mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for healthcare workers (HCWs) in facilities that participate in CMS programs. The guidance in the memorandum specifically applies to Texas. On January…

Read More

Editor's Note On April 6, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced in a news alert that it will pay for a second COVID-19 booster of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines without cost sharing for all eligible individuals. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)…

Read More

Editor's Note Researchers from the University of Utah Health, who have identified a family of proteins that are significantly elevated in the saliva of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, presented their findings at American Physiological Society annual meeting, held during the Experimental Biology 2022 meeting in Philadelphia April 4. The proteins, named…

Read More

Editor's Note This collaborative study by researchers at Duke University, Vanderbilt University, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, finds that COVID-19 healthcare workers (HCWs) experienced high rates of moral injury, comparable to rates among military veterans. Moral injuries are described as actions that conflict with values and beliefs, causing psychological…

Read More