Editor's Note In this study, researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine find that the initial COVID-19 shutdown from March through April 2020 resulted in a decrease in surgical volume to nearly half of baseline rates. After the reopening, surgical volume rebounded to 2019 levels, and the trend was maintained.…

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Editor's Note New York will require 32 upstate hospitals with limited capacity to halt elective surgical procedures as COVID-19 cases increase in the state, the December 7 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. The state defined limited capacity as less than 10% staffed bed capacity, or as determined by the health department…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers from the University of Illinois Chicago finds that about 3 in 20 healthcare workers (HCWs) surveyed reported being hesitant about getting COVID-19 vaccinations. The study also finds that HCW vaccine decisions were influenced by their colleagues. The survey included 1,974 respondents from three Chicago…

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Editor's Note This survey study by the RAND Corporation finds that participants were willing to use telehealth for visits but preferred in-person care, and those who preferred telehealth were more sensitive to out-of-pocket costs. Of 2,080 survey participants, 66.5% preferred at least some telehealth visits in the future, but 53%…

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Editor's Note The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reported on December 3 that Medicare telehealth flexibilities led to a 63-fold (ie, from approximately 840,000 to 52.7 million) increase in use from 2019 to 2020. The report also notes that telehealth services were accessed more in urban than…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers at Stony Brook University in New York finds that low wind speeds and warm stale air are associated with a higher incidence of contracting COVID-19 virus when people socialize outside. Overall, the analysis showed that days with temperatures ranging from 61º to 82º F…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on December 1, issued a statement that the California and San Francisco Departments of Public Health have confirmed that a recent case of COVID-19 in an individual in California was caused by the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529). The individual, who has mild…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on November 30, identified the worldwide recall by Teleflex of its Arrow-Trerotola Over-The-Wire PTD Kit Percutaneous Thrombolytic Device: 7FR as Class I, the most serious. The device, which is used for mechanical declotting of native arteriovenous fistulae and synthetic dialysis grafts, was…

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Editor's Note A Louisiana federal judge, on November 30, blocked the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers (HCWs) at facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid nationwide, the November 30 Axios reports. In his ruling, the judge says the executive branch does not have the authority to bypass Congress in enforcing…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers from Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, finds that healthcare workers (HCWs) had significant changes in their personal and professional lives during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, before the availability of vaccines. Findings from this analysis of 1,344 HCWs (ie, nurses,…

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