Editor's Note In this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study of IV remdesivir in adults hospitalized with COVID-19 and lower respiratory tract infection, remdesivir was found to be superior to placebo in shortening the time to recovery. A total of 1,062 patients were randomized to either remdesivir (541) or placebo (521). Remdesivir…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on October 9 announced that it is taking action to stop labs that are testing for COVID-19 without proper Clinical Laboratory Improvements Amendments (CLIA) certification. The agency has issued 171 cease-and-desist letters to US facilities that were testing for COVID-19…

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Editor's Note New research presented October 12 at UEG [United European Gastroenterology] Week Virtual 2020 shows that delays in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening caused by COVID-19 has resulted in significantly increased mortality rates. Researchers at the University of Bologna, Italy, developed a model to forecast the impact of delayed CRC…

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Editor's Note Leandro Pecchia, PhD, associate professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Warwick, Coventry, UK, has been awarded £13 million (nearly $17 million) for the ODIN project. The project will explore the use of robots and artificial intelligence (AI) to ease pressures on hospitals during recovery from COVID-19…

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Editor's Note In this study, funded by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, researchers find that remdesivir probably improves recovery from COVID-19 and reduces serious adverse events and mortality. This analysis of four randomized trials finds that remdesivir compared with placebo may improve recovery (ARD, 7% to 10%), reduce mortality…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on October 6 released guidance on how it will implement an interim final rule that requires hospitals and critical access hospitals to report data on COVID-19 and flu patients. CMS says failure to report specified data may lead to termination…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on October 6 released guidance on the data and information needed to support the issuance of emergency use authorization (EUA) for COVID-19 vaccines. The recommended data and information include: chemistry, manufacturing, and controls information clinical and nonclinical data and information administration and…

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Editor's Note In this study, researchers from the University of Bristol in the UK, find that intubation and extubation of patients during general anesthesia may produce only a fraction of the aerosols previously thought, much less than that produced during a regular cough. The researchers conducted real-time, high-resolution environmental monitoring…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on October 5, issued updated guidance to its "How COVID-19 Spreads" website, which includes information on the potential for airborne spread of the virus. The CDC says that, based on current science, it continues to believe people are more likely…

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Editor's Note More than 86% of nursing leaders say they feel prepared for a future COVID-19 surge, in a Joslin Marketing survey of more than 1,800 members of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL). Respondents to the July survey said their biggest challenges included: communicating and implementing policy changes…

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