Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on December 2 changed its recommended quarantine period for people who have come in contact with COVID-19 positive individuals. Instead of the standard 14 days, the CDC now allows individuals who have come in contact with someone infected with the…

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Editor's Note This study led by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland, finds that vaccinations with mRNA-1273 (Moderna) have the potential to provide durable humoral immunity. This report describes immunogenicity data for mRNA-1273 at 119 days after the first vaccination and 90 days after the second…

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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 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on December 1 released its 2021 final rule for the Medicare physician fee schedule (PFS), which expands telehealth services and increases payments for primary care and chronic disease management. The rule also reduces payments for surgeons, emergency physicians, and other…

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Editor's Note Pfizer/BioNTech received emergency approval from the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on December 2 for its COVID-19 vaccine, making the UK the first country to approve the vaccine, the December 2 BBC News reports. The UK has ordered 40 million doses, and MHRA says the…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York City, finds that patients having elective surgery make up a small fraction of ICU bed and mechanical ventilation use in New York State. The researchers reviewed 5 years of New York State data…

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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 In response to an increase in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, 66 hospitals have postponed or cancelled elective surgical procedures in an effort to free up space and ensure enough staff and PPE are available, the November 24 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. All of the hospitals are in the Midwest…

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Editor's Note In a November 23 letter to federal government leaders, the American College of Surgeons (ACS), American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), and Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) asked officials “to act collectively and quickly in support of hospitals and healthcare providers as they continue to struggle in response…

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Editor's Note This Danish unblinded, randomized, controlled trial finds that wearing masks to supplement other public health measures did not reduce the COVID-19 infection rate among wearers. Researchers randomized 3,030 participants to wear three-layer, disposable surgical masks with ear loops that were made in China, and 2,994 were assigned to…

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