Editor's Note In a February 18 Wall Street Journal op-ed, Marty Makary, MD, a surgeon and a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health, predicts that the US will have herd immunity to COVID-19 by April. He notes that COVID-19 cases have dropped…

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Editor's Note A survey by Morning Consult finds that of 16,970 working US adults polled, 56% said they would receive a COVID-19 vaccination if offered. This percentage rose to 61% during the final week of the survey, which was conducted between October 29, 2020, and January 29, 2021, according to…

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Editor's Note A US analysis of state and county data shows a 23% drop in new COVID-19 cases, a 16% fall in patients hospitalized, and a 1.8% decline in deaths in the week ending February 14, compared with the previous week, the February 16 Reuters reports. Nationally, 5.7% of COVID-19…

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Burnout among healthcare workers was on the rise long before 2020, but it has skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, many healthcare organizations have stepped up efforts to support their staffs. “Maybe 20% of burnout is something an individual can control, but the other 80% is the work…

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Combatting COVID-19 is the top priority of President Joe Biden. On Day 1 of his presidency, he signed numerous executive orders, including one that aims to provide “a unified and effective response” to the crisis and one that mandates mask-wearing and social distancing on all federal properties. His strategy is…

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The end of the COVID-19 pandemic is in sight, but hospital surgery departments will not likely see a rapid return to normal. Since the start of the pandemic, perioperative leaders have had to stay flexible and act quickly. Over the next 12 months, OR leaders will need to reassess the…

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Editor's Note Since emergency use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines in December, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) has received reports of allergic reactions including anaphylaxis. From December 14, 2020, through January 18, 2021, 9,943,247 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and…

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Editor's Note In a February 5 media briefing, the White House says it has invoked the Defense Production Act to help Pfizer produce more of its COVID-19 vaccine, and the same will hold true for Johnson & Johnson, should it receive Emergency Use Authorization for it’s vaccine, the February 5…

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Editor's Note Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said on February 3 that new COVID-19 cases in the US had fallen to pre-Thanksgiving levels, and the infection rates were continuing to decline, the February 3 The Hill reports. COVID-19 cases and hospital admissions appear…

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Editor's Note On February 11, the federal government will begin distributing 1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to 6,500 retail pharmacy stores, and this could expand to some 40,000 stores, according to a February 2 statement from the White House. These doses are in addition to the 10.5 million that…

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