Advancements in technology have made it easier to distract children and ease their fears when they are undergoing surgery, but managing this patient population presents unique challenges. To guide parents and children through the surgery experience, leaders at some ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) have turned to child life specialists, innovative…

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Editor's Note New provisional data released July 14 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that more than 93,331 people died from drug overdoes in the US last year. The nearly 30% rise from 2019 was mostly triggered by COVID-19 pandemic-related stressors, treatment inaccessibility, and proliferation of…

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Editor's Note In this study by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is based on surveys conducted just before the expanded availability of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for adolescents aged 12-15 years, about half of unvaccinated adolescents and their parents reported not intending for or being uncertain…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on July 9 updated its guidance for COVID-19 prevention in K-12 schools and urged schools to fully reopen in the fall even if they can’t comply with all the recommendations on physical distancing and mask-wearing. The agency says if maintaining…

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Editor's Note This study from the University of California, Los Angeles, found that the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a 28.3% decline in monthly addiction treatment initiations. Larger declines occurred in those: without Medicaid coverage (-10.8%) younger than 25 years (-15.6%) who were employed (-11.6%) with dependent living (-11.4%) with…

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Editor's Note In this study, researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine found that some COVID-19 patients experience milder symptoms than others because they have more CD8+ T cells (killer T cells) that remember previous encounters with seasonal coronaviruses. The researchers first confirmed that some portions of the SARS-CoV-2’s sequence…

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Editor's Note This study from the Cleveland Clinic finds that patient satisfaction with virtual healthcare visits is comparable to traditional in-person visits. Researchers surveyed 426 adult patients who had virtual visits from June 21 to July 12, 2017. Among the findings: 92.9% believed their virtual visit clinician was interested in…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a joint statement on July 8 saying that fully vaccinated Americans do not need COVID-19 booster shots at this time. The statement says the CDC, FDA, and National Institutes of Health are engaged…

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Editor's Note In this study, researchers from the University of California, Irvine, found a rapid and sustained decline in COVID-19 symptomatic and asymptomatic infections in healthcare workers (HCWs) after vaccination. Of 10,188 HCWs included in the study, 58% received a first dose within 2 weeks of when vaccinations started, and…

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Editor's Note Since listing the hospitals and health systems mandating COVID-19 vaccination for its employees on June 29 ( https://www.ormanager.com/briefs/growing-number-of-hospitals-healthcare-systems-mandating-covid-19-vaccinations-for-hcws/ ), Becker’s Hospital Review has added five more, bringing the number to 26. In chronological order, the five additional organizations that have added mandates as of July 8 are: Trinity Health, Livonia,…

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