Editor's Note This study led by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that COVID-19 vaccines are strongly associated with preventing serious illness. Analyzing data from 192,509 hospitalizations in 250 US hospitals: monthly COVID-19 associated hospitalization rates ranged from 3.5 to 17.7 times higher in unvaccinated…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on September 8 issued a Safety Communication informing the public about reports of cancers, including squamous cell carcinomas and various lymphomas in the scar tissue that forms around breast implants. The various lymphomas are not the same as the lymphomas reported in…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety communication alert on September 6 informing patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers that Philips Respironics (Philips) has recalled certain masks used with bilevel positive airway pressure (Bilevel PAP, BiPAP, or BPAP) machines and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines due…
Editor's Note On Tuesday, White House officials said COVID-19 vaccinations will likely become an annual affair, similar to flu shots, NBC News September 6 reports. "In the absence of a dramatically different variants, we likely are moving towards a path with a vaccination cadence similar to that of the annual…
Editor's Note September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, with National Suicide Prevention Week taking place from September 4 to 10. The American Hospital Association (AHA) highlights resources available to individuals in an effort to reduce the occurrence of suicide and destigmatize the conversations around it. Throughout the month, AHA will…
Editor's Note In an effort to address the National Mental Health Crisis, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), granted the American Academy of Pediatrics $2 million in funding to establish a National Center of Excellence on Social…
Editor's Note The FBI on August 22 warned healthcare workers of ongoing fraud schemes where scammers impersonate law enforcement and government officials in an effort to extort money or steal personally identifiable information (PII), Healthcare Purchasing News August 24 reports. By researching a medical practice’s website or social media, scammers…
Editor's Note This meta-analysis led by researchers in Spain finds that regular physical activity is associated with a lower risk of COVID-19 infection, severity, and mortality. The analysis included 1,853,610 adults from multiple countries worldwide—54% were women, and the average age was 53. Compared with physically inactive individuals, those who…
Editor's Note This study led by researchers at Kaiser Permanente, Southern California, Pasadena, finds that masking mandates had a significant role in influencing people to wear masks during COVID-19. A total of 109,999 individuals in 126 US cities were included in the analysis. Data were collected by 231 students affiliated with…
Editor's Note This study led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, finds that healthcare facilities in counties with higher Black composition and rural areas with large Hispanic populations were less likely to serve as COVID-19 vaccine administration locations during the initial rollout in May 2021. At that…