Pfizer, BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine more than 90% effective, EUA application could come next week
Editor's Note Pfizer and BioNTech announced November 9 that their COVID-19 vaccine is more than 90% effective 7 days after the second dose in preventing COVID-19 infection in participants without evidence of prior infection. This means that protection is achieved 28 days after initiation of the vaccination, which consists of…
CMS: How to prepare for COVID-19 vaccine
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on November 5 released a set of toolkits and enrollment actions to take to administer the COVID-19 vaccine when it’s available. Many Medicare-enrolled providers don’t have to take any actions until the vaccine is available. Some Medicare-enrolled providers must also…
CDC: Birth, infant outcomes after COVID-19 in pregnancy
Editor's Note In this analysis of COVID-19 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the proportion of preterm live births in women with COVID-19 infection during pregnancy was higher than that in the general population in 2019, suggesting that pregnant women with COVID-19 infection might be at risk…
FDA alerts providers on how to prevent false positive results with COVID-19 antigen tests
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on November 3 issued a letter alerting clinical laboratory staff and healthcare providers that false positive results can occur with antigen tests, including when users do not follow instructions for use of antigen tests for the rapid detection of COVID-19. Among the…
Hospital floors are hotspots for healthcare-associated pathogens
Editor's Note Healthcare-associated pathogens rapidly accumulate on the floors of patient rooms and can be transferred to patients’ socks, bedding, and high-touch surfaces, finds this study published November 2 as part of the proceedings from Decennial 2020: The Sixth International Conference on Healthcare-Associated Infections. Researchers from the Northeast Ohio VA…
Effect of elective surgery cancellation on ICU capacity in New York State
Editor's Note Suspension of elective surgical procedures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York State had only a minor effect on ICU capacity, this study finds. State authorities suspended all elective surgical procedures in mid-March 2020 to increase hospital and ICU bed capacity. However, the effect of canceling…
Eight hospitals postponing elective surgery in response to COVID-19 resurgence
Editor's Note Hospitals nationwide are beginning once again to suspend elective surgical procedures in response to an increase in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, the October 30 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. The following eight hospitals are postponing or canceling surgical procedures to free up bed capacity, ensure staffing, or to make sure…
Air, environmental sampling for COVID-19 around hospitalized patients
Editor's Note This study led by researchers from the department of microbiology, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong, found that COVID-19 RNA [ribonucleic acid] was not detectable by air samplers, suggesting that the airborne route is not the predominant mode of transmission. The researchers sampled air close to six asymptomatic and…
CMS issues coverage plan for COVID-19 vaccines, treatments
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on October 28 issued an interim final rule that requires CMS to cover any COVID-19 vaccines that receive Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorization at no cost to beneficiaries. The rule also will increase what Medicare pays hospitals for COVID-19…
Association of stay-at-home orders and state-level rates of African American’s with COVID-19
Editor's Note A state’s stay-at-home orders (SAHOs) were associated with reductions in COVID-19 cases and fatality rates between March and May 2020, and a state’s number of African Americans was associated with more COVID-19 cases and fatalities in this study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Of 3,023 pooled…
Free Daily News
- United Surgical Partners agrees to $1.48M settlement in 401(k) fee lawsuit
- Healthcare M&A activity set to rebound in 2025 amid stricter state oversight
- High participation in ASCQR program continues, March deadline for reconsideration requests
- Study: Preoperative stereotactic radiosurgery shows promise in brain metastases management
- Senate report: Private equity endangers patient care in underserved hospitals
- Study: Postoperative thirst often overlooked by OR, ward nurses
- FDA draft guidance addresses pulse oximeter accuracy, AI devices
- AAMI updates sterilization materials compatibility guidance
- Study: Esophagectomy outcomes worse at private equity hospitals
- Study: Black CABG patients disadvantaged in accessing best hospitals