This issue of OR Manager is being published just about a year after the nationwide shutdown that was implemented to curb the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Failures on many fronts ensued in the months that followed, with an excessive death toll and unprecedented disruptions in every…

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Editor's Note This study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that COVID-19 vaccination coverage was lower in high vulnerability counties in the US than in low vulnerability counties (13.9% vs 15.8%), which was largely driven by socioeconomic disparities. The same pattern was found for social vulnerability…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston finds no significant difference in COVID-19 cases in students and staff at schools observing 6-feet and 3-feet social distancing rules. Researchers compared incident cases of COVID-19 in 537,336 students and 99,390 staff in 251…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that obesity increases the risk for severe COVID-19-associated illness. Of 148,494 US adults with confirmed COVID-19 treated at 238 hospitals included in the study, 28.3% were overweight and 50.8% were obese. Severely obese adults…

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Editor's Note The number of new COVID-19 cases in the US dropped 12%, deaths fell 18%, and hospitalizations declined 16% last week, the March 8 Reuters reports. At the same time, an average of 2.2 million COVID-19 vaccines were administered each day, up from 1.6 million the week before. Despite…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on March 5 released a study showing mask mandates were responsible for a decrease in COVID-19 case growth rates by 0.5% after 20 days and by 1.8% after 100 days. Mask mandates also were associated with a 0.7% decrease in…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on March 8 released interim recommendations saying that people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can safely gather with fully vaccinated people from other households without wearing masks or physical distancing. They also can visit indoors with unvaccinated people from…

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Editor's Note A study by the Riken research institute and Kobe University using Fugaku, the world’s fastest supercomputer, finds that wearing two masks offers little benefit in preventing the spread of COVID-19 compared to one well-fitted disposable mask, the March 4 Reuters reports. The researchers found that tightly-fitted surgical masks…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on February 27 issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, making it the third coronavirus vaccine approved for use in the US. The vaccine can be administered to people ages 18 and older. Vaccinations will begin…

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Editor's Note Up to 4 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) single-dose COVID-19 vaccine will be delivered to states, community health centers, and pharmacies next week, if the vaccine receives Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), the February 24 The Hill reports. An…

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