The rollout of COVID-19 vaccines starting in December 2020 was the one bright spot in an otherwise tragic year with a rapidly rising death toll currently over 385,000. Distribution of the 20 million doses promised by year end was thwarted by problems such as lack of coordination and lack of…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers from Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, finds that in the first 9 weeks of in-person classes in North Carolina schools, there was extremely limited within-school secondary transmissions of COVID-19. The researchers examined 11 school districts with more than 90,000 students…

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Editor's Note Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert R. Redfield, MD, on January 12, signed an order to expand the requirement for a negative COVID-19 test to all airline passengers entering the US. The order, which will become effective January 26, requires that: Airline passengers get a…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that COVID-19 cases in children, adolescents, and young adults increased during the review period (March 1-December 12), with spikes in early summer, followed by a decline, and then a steep increase from October through…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on January 13, announced that it had approved four new elements of performance (EPs) for office-based surgery practices that prescribe medication. The EPs for Medication Management Standard MM.04.01.01, which will become effective July 1, address the following: Having a written policy that identifies specific medication…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers from the Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, La Jolla, California, finds that response to COVID-19 by the immune system can last for at least 8 months after the onset of symptoms. The researchers measured antibodies, memory…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on January 8 updated its guidance to clarify that overlapping may occur in phases of vaccinating priority groups, Reuters reports. The CDC reiterated that priority recipients of the COVID-19 vaccines are still healthcare workers, nursing home residents, those aged 75…

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Editor's Note This study examines factors influencing patients’ decisions to accept or decline telepsychiatry care after stay-at-home orders were initiated in Michigan. Researchers from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, surveyed 244 patients whose in-person appointments were scheduled within the first 3 weeks of stay-at-home orders. The majority (202, 82.8%)…

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Editor's Note This decision analytical model from researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that transmission of COVID-19 by asymptomatic individuals accounts for more than half of all transmissions. Combining baseline assumptions that peak infectiousness occurs at the median of symptom onset and that 30% never develop…

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Editor's Note Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on January 8 announced the renewal of the COVID-19 national public health emergency declaration, the American Hospital Association reports. The renewal is effective January 21 and will last 90 days. The declaration provides hospitals, health systems, and healthcare workers…

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