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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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Editor's Note In the October 26 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, an analysis led by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of hospitalization data from 13 states found that 5.9% of adults hospitalized with COVID-19 between March 1 and May 31 were healthcare workers (HCWs). Among…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Office of Biostatistics and Epidemiology is currently developing master protocols to be used in monitoring the safety and effectiveness of a COVID-19 vaccine once it is authorized or approved, in addition to postmarket surveillance requirements, the October 22 Regulatory Focus reports. The…

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