Editor's Note On August 23, the American Nurses Association (ANA), American Medical Association (AMA), and American Hospital Association (AHA) released a joint statement commending the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) full approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The approval marks an important moment for those concerned about getting vaccinated because…

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Editor's Note A new experimental study by engineering researchers in the Fluid Mechanics Research Laboratory at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, finds that most cloth and disposable masks (3-ply cotton and 3-ply blue pseudo-surgical masks) filter only 10% of exhaled aerosol droplets because of fit. The remaining aerosols are…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration on August 23 announced that it had approved the first COVID-19 vaccine, known as Pfizer-BioNTech. The vaccine will now be marketed as Comirnaty, for the prevention of COVID-19 in those 16 years of age and older. The vaccine will continue to be available…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that from May 3 to July 25, 2021, there were 1,271 new COVID-19 hospitalizations among fully vaccinated adults in New York, compared with 7,308 among unvaccinated adults. Hospitalization rates declined through the week of…

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Editor's Note Data from a new survey of more than 4,500 nurses conducted by the American Nurses Association (ANA) in conjunction with the Johnson & Johnson-sponsored “COVID Vaccine Facts for Nurses” campaign finds that about 90% are vaccinated against COVID-19 or plan to be vaccinated. Other findings from the survey…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, finds that patients who had a penicillin allergy carried a higher risk for negative outcomes with COVID-19 than those without the allergy. This analysis included 13,183 adults with COVID-19 and a penicillin allergy and 13,183…

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Editor's Note The Louisiana Department of Health has requested 6,000 military nurses to help handle increasing patient volumes in the state because of the surge in COVID-19 cases, the August 17 k945.com reports. The report also notes that: 95% of all COVID-19 cases in Louisiana are due to the Delta…

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Responses to the 2021 OR Manager Salary/Career Survey indicate that OR leaders continue to face significant challenges as a result of COVID-19. The survey results come at a time when the buffeting waves of the pandemic are receding for some leaders, leaving them on the shoreline of a post-pandemic world.…

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Protecting healthcare staff from physical and verbal abuse has always been a part of nurse leaders’ responsibilities, but the increase in workplace violence (WPV) since the start of COVID-19 has made that even more challenging than in the past. In the first article of this two-part series, OR Manager looked…

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Editor's Note This international multicenter study led by UK researchers finds that the first wave of COVID-19 significantly impacted surgical patients in peak months—directly by comorbid infections and indirectly by increasing mortality, irrespective of COVID-19 status. In this analysis of 3,176 emergency adult surgical patients from 18 countries (between March…

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