Editor's Note This study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, finds that standardized infection ratios (SIRs) were significantly higher during COVID-19 than during the prepandemic period, and the incidence of healthcare associated infections (HAIs) was elevated during periods of high COVID-19 hospitalizations. The analysis revealed elevated incidence…

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Editor's Note This Chinese study finds that wearing N95 face masks for 14 hours significantly affects physiological, biochemical, and perception parameters. The effect was primarily caused by increased respiratory resistance and subsequent decreased blood oxygen and pH. This randomized clinical trial included 30 healthy participants between March 7 and August…

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Editor's Note This Canadian study finds that translocator protein distribution volume (TSPO Vt) an index of brain gliosis (ie, an inflammatory change) was higher in COVID-19 patients with persistent depressive and cognitive symptoms (COVID-DC). Researchers compared TSPO Vt of specific regions of the brain in 20 participants with COVID-DC and…

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Editor's Note This study led by Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, finds that female frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) were more than twice as likely as men to screen positive for chronic stress-related psychological symptoms (18.7% vs 8.8%) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Symptoms included major depressive, generalized anxiety, or…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), on May 31, withdrew the COVID-19 healthcare worker (HCW) vaccination requirements, including removing the requirement for COVID-19 vaccination policies and procedures for HCWs, the May 31 AHAToday reports. The rule also eliminated long-term care facility COVID-19 testing requirements that required…

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Editor's Note This study by Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School, Boston, finds that healthy sleep before and during the COVID-19 pandemic was linked to a substantially decreased risk of long COVID. A total of 1,979 women from the Nurses’ Health Study II were included in the…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, finds that working the night shift or binge drinking doubled the risk of COVID-19 infection in nurses during the pandemic. The analysis included survey answers of 750 nurses who were members of the American Nurses Association. The…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on May 26, released an update on the spread of COVID-19 at its 2023 Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Conference in Atlanta in April. The conference was attended by some 1,800 in-person attendees. A rapid assessment team was gathered to survey…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on May 25, identified the recall by SD BioSensor, Inc, of certain Pilot COVID-19 At-Home Tests as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because the liquid solution in the test kit may be contaminated with bacteria such as Enterococcus,…

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Editor's Note This multi-center study, which is part of the National Institutes of Health’s Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) initiative and led by the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, was conducted to develop a definition of long COVID using self-reported symptoms of 9,764 participants (8,646 infected; 1,118 uninfected) at 85…

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