Editor's Note Moderna Inc (Cambridge, Massachusetts) on November 16 announced that its vaccine is 94.5% effective at preventing COVID-19. Their analysis of a 30,000-person trial (half received the vaccine and half received a placebo) finds that 90 of the 95 COVID-19 documented cases are in the placebo group. The Moderna announcement…

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Editor's Note In this analysis of COVID-19 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the proportion of preterm live births in women with COVID-19 infection during pregnancy was higher than that in the general population in 2019, suggesting that pregnant women with COVID-19 infection might be at risk…

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Editor's Note Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has announced plans to test their COVID-19 vaccine in young individuals between the ages of 12 and 18, the October 30 Reuters reports. J&J started testing its vaccine in 60,000 volunteer adults in late September. Depending on safety, J&J also plans to test the…

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Editor's Note In the October 26 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, an analysis led by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of hospitalization data from 13 states found that 5.9% of adults hospitalized with COVID-19 between March 1 and May 31 were healthcare workers (HCWs). Among…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Office of Biostatistics and Epidemiology is currently developing master protocols to be used in monitoring the safety and effectiveness of a COVID-19 vaccine once it is authorized or approved, in addition to postmarket surveillance requirements, the October 22 Regulatory Focus reports. The…

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Editor's Note In this study from the Vermont Departments of Health and Corrections and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an officer at a correctional facility in Vermont was found to test positive for the COVID-19 virus on August 11 after multiple brief exposures to six infected incarcerated…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on October 21 updated its COVID-19 “close contact” definition to being “within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period,” even if the time isn’t consecutive. The previous definition…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on October 15 announced that it reissued the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for certain N95 and other filtering face-piece respirators that are manufactured in China and are not approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute for Occupational Safety…

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Editor's Note Recently published data from a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that 70.6% of COVID-19-positive patients report “always” wearing a mask, 14.4% report “often” wearing a mask, and 3.9% report “never” wearing a mask (See Table: Reported use of cloth face covering or…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on October 5, issued updated guidance to its "How COVID-19 Spreads" website, which includes information on the potential for airborne spread of the virus. The CDC says that, based on current science, it continues to believe people are more likely…

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