Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) News

For three years, hospitals, health systems and health care workers have been on the front lines of the greatest public health crisis our nation has faced in a century.

In a new public service announcement, leaders of the AHA, American Medical Association and American Nurses Association encourage the public to get vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19 when eligible to protect themselves, their families and communities from serious disease and death.

When the omicron BA.4/BA.5 variants were circulating, Americans who received an updated COVID-19 vaccine were 14 times less likely to die than those who received no vaccine and five times less likely to die than those who received the original monovalent vaccine, according a study released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The Federal Emergency Management Agency today notified government partners and stakeholders that the incident period for public assistance funding for eligible COVID-19-related work and reimbursable costs will end with the COVID-19 national and public health emergencies on May 11.

The Food and Drug Administration Friday cleared for commercial distribution a test to diagnose multiple respiratory viral and bacterial infections in respiratory specimens from patients with suspected COVID-19 or other respiratory infections.

As HHS prepares to end the COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11, AHA today recommended the agency take immediate actions to help ensure care remains available to patients when and where they need it; support the health care workforce as they continue to shoulder a disproportionate amount of strain; and remove unnecessary administrative and regulatory burdens that prevent providers from modernizing care delivery while adding cost and friction in the health care system.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services this week released updated fact sheets for hospitals and other types of Medicare and Medicaid providers on the status of COVID-19 blanket waivers and flexibilities and whether they will end or continue after the COVID-19 public health emergency. 

The House last night voted 220-210 to pass legislation (H.R.382) that would immediately terminate the COVID-19 public health emergency, and 227-203 to pass legislation (H.R.497) that would eliminate the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers at facilities that participate in Medicare or Medicaid.

As the Congressional Telehealth Caucus considers updates to legislation that would permanently remove all geographic restrictions on Medicare telehealth services and expand originating sites, AHA encouraged House and Senate caucus leaders to consider adding provisions that have expanded access to care during the COVID-19 public health emergency. 

The Biden Administration plans to end on May 11 the COVID-19 national and public health emergencies declared in 2020, according to a policy statement released by the Office of Management and Budget opposing House resolutions that would end the emergencies immediately if passed.

Between Oct. 10, 2022, and Jan. 8, 2023, nursing home residents who were not up to date with the recommended COVID-19 vaccinations had a 30%-50% higher risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection than residents who were up to date, according to a study released by the CDC.

The AHA is offering a new set of social messages and assets for February to encourage the public to get vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19.

A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee unanimously voted today to recommend harmonizing the composition of all primary series and booster doses administered in the U.S

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Wastewater Surveillance System has helped the nation monitor new COVID-19 variants and their spread during the public health emergency and will remain a critical data source for responding to the virus, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

The CDC released a dashboard tracking hospitalization rates for laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, flu and Respiratory Syncytial Virus by age group, sex, race/ethnicity, state and season based on data from select counties in 13 states, which the agency will update weekly.

The Department of Health and Human Services renewed the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration for another 90 days.

In a study reported yesterday in JAMA Internal Medicine, children and adolescents previously diagnosed with multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) reported no serious complications after COVID-19 vaccination.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency deadline is Dec. 31 for applicants to submit funding requests and related documentation to the Public Assistance program at the 100% Federal cost share for COVID-19 emergency work activities performed through July 1, 2022.

The Department of Health and Human Services today recommended governors take certain actions to prepare for a potential further increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations this winter, and has pre-positioned N-95 masks, gloves, gowns and ventilators at strategic locations should states need them.

The Food and Drug Administration last week authorized for emergency use a test kit to help identify individuals with an adaptive immune response to SARS-CoV-2, indicating a recent or prior infectio