Editor's Note This pilot project, by epidemiologist Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, and colleagues finds that routine reprocessing activities generate substantial splashing and droplet dispersal, and that currently recommended items of personal protective equipment (PPE) do not adequately protect personnel from exposure. The researchers found that: Droplets were generated during every…

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  Editor's Note A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) national survey analysis found that a recommendation from a healthcare provider may help increase COVID-19 vaccination rates, according to a February 8 report in JAMA. The survey, analyzed in the December 17, 2021, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, titled…

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Editor's Note According to the February 10 Healthcare Purchasing News, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), announced a new American Rescue Plan funding of $66.5 million to help expand outreach efforts to boost COVID-19 vaccine rates. The funding will…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that wastewater surveillance programs in four states were the first to detect evidence of Omicron in community wastewater. California: Omicron was detected in samples collected November 25 and 30, 2021, in two Northern communities.…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on February 4 announced that it is adding wastewater surveillance to its COVID-19 dashboard data tracking system. The CDC will track the spread of COVID-19 variants based on measurements at more than 500 wastewater monitoring sites across the US. This…

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Editor's Note This study led by Marty Makary, MD, MPH, and Dorry Segev, MD, PhD, at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, finds natural immunity in unvaccinated healthy US adults up to 20 months after testing positive for COVID-19. Of 1,580 study participants, antibodies were detected in: 99% of…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, finds that racial and ethnic minorities have been more hesitant or unwilling to be vaccinated for COVID-19, compared to Whites. Of study participants in the US (87,388) and UK (1,254,294): Vaccine hesitancy was greater…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on January 19, released a study showing that in New York and California, both vaccination and prior infection offered protection against COVID-19, but those who had recovered from COVID-19 were less likely than vaccinated individuals to get infected during the Delta…

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Editor's Note This study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds disparate monoclonal antibody (mAb) treatment of COVID-19 in Hispanic, Black, Asian, and Other race patients, compared to non-Hispanic and White patients. Differences in treatment with dexamethasone and remdesivir were less apparent. Analyzing data from 41 healthcare…

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Editor's Note The Supreme Court on January 13 blocked the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccine-or-test requirement for workplaces with 100 or more employees, but the Court is allowing a vaccine mandate for healthcare workers at facilities that receive Medicaid and Medicare funds. The order covers more than 17 million healthcare workers…

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