Editor's Note Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, on May 23, issued an Advisory highlighting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers (HCWs) and the urgent need to address HCW burnout across the country. Among the Advisory’s recommendations: Transforming workplace cultures to empower HCWs and be responsive to their…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on May 24 issued a Health Alert Network Health Advisory to update healthcare providers and the public on treating the potential for recurrence of COVID-19, also termed “COVID-19 rebound.” According to the health advisory update, there is “currently no evidence…

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Editor's Note Some hospitals and health systems are scaling up their telehealth initiatives and have established venture funds to invest in digital health innovations. Four health system executives with venture funds spoke to Becker’s Hospital Review May 24 about what “criteria they look for” and/or consider before investing in digital…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, finds that from the second (November 2020 to February 2021) through the third periods (July to October 2021) of the COVID-19 pandemic, declines in mortality for various racial, ethnic, and gender combinations were especially large for those…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 16 identified the recall of Woodside Acquisitions Inc’s Oral Rapid SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Test Kits and Joysbio SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Test Kits (Colloidal Gold) as Class I, the most serious. The tests are being recalled because they were distributed to…

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Editor's Note OR Manager recently reported on a study that found that older age is a risk factor for long COVID-19—described as ongoing or new health problems that occur at least 4 weeks after COVID-19 infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to that study,…

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Editor's Note This study, led by researchers from the University of Rochester (NY) School of Medicine, finds that the early response to the COVID-19 pandemic did not increase disparities in access to major surgical procedures. Of 3,470,905 adults hospitalized for major surgical procedures at 719 facilities between January 1, 2018,…

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Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons (ACS), on May 19, announced that it strongly supports legislation that creates a grant program to provide training on bleeding control techniques and anti-blood loss supplies for use in medical emergencies. The “Prevent Blood Loss with Emergency Equipment Devices Act (Prevent Bleeding Act),”…

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Editor's Note In this study, researchers from Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, find that face-mask compliance remained suboptimal among healthcare workers (HCWs) despite a facility-wide mandate for universal masking during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of 1,561 observations during a 4-week baseline period after universal masking was mandated, median weekly…

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Editor's Note In a May 18 position statement, ECRI recommends that it’s time to move to a regularly scheduled COVID-19 vaccine booster model. “Moving to a regular vaccine schedule will increase clarity and confidence about what actions to take and when, compared to the current piecemeal, wait-and-see approach,” says Marcus…

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