Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) News

COVID-19 remained the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer in 2021, according to preliminary data relea

The association said the OSHA standard is unnecessary and would cause confusion.

Americans are ready to move on from COVID-19, but the virus isn’t finished, and hospitals are still feeling the crush of the pandemic.

On this episode, Wright L. Lassiter III, Chair, American Hospital Association, talks with Matthew Stanley, D.O., a psychiatrist and clinical vice president of the behavioral health service line at Avera Health, based in Sioux Falls, S.D. He is chair-elect of AHA’s Behavioral Health Services Committee.

Positive results should be treated as presumptive and confirmed with a molecular test.

As urged by the AHA, HHS renewed the COVID-19 emergency declaration for another 90 days effective April 16.

For more than two full years – day in and day out – hospitals and health systems and their front-line caregivers have cared for patients, comforted families and protected communities during this unprecedented public health crisis. 

Certain emergency blanket waivers issued for nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities and other settings in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency will end in 30 or 60 days, depending on the waiver.

President Biden yesterday directed the HHS secretary to coordinate the federal response.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration today reopened the comment period for certain topics in its interim final rule establishing an emergency temporary standard for occupational exposure to COVID-19.

The Food and Drug Administration last week authorized for emergency use a new over-the-counter COVID-19 test.

Mask mandates are being lifted in cities and towns across the U.S. and more employees are transitioning from remote work at home and returning to their offices, so people are wondering: Are we nearing the end of the pandemic?

Studies show benefits of mRNA vaccines, boosters.

As of January, only 27 states had a plan for how they will prioritize Medicaid eligibility and renewal actions when the continuous enrollment requirement ends after the COVID-19 public health emergency, according to a survey released by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The COVID-19 Uninsured Program will stop accepting claims for testing and treatment on March 22 at 11:59 p.m. ET and claims for vaccination on April 5 at 11:59 p.m. ET due to lack of sufficient funds, the Health Resources and Services Administration announced.

Weekly COVID-19-associated hospitalization rates among U.S. infants and children under age 5 have declined since peaking Jan. 8, but peak rates during omicron predominance were about five times those during delta predominance, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

Without additional funding from Congress, the U.S. cannot secure sufficient COVID-19 vaccine boosters and variant-specific vaccines for all Americans; reimburse providers to test, treat and vaccinate the uninsured; provide monoclonal antibody therapies to states; or sustain testing capacity, among other actions, according to a White House announcement. 

The Food and Drug Administration recently authorized extending from six to nine months the shelf life for refrigerated Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine stored at 2-8 degrees Celsius (about 36-46 degrees Fahrenheit), based on data submitted by the company. 

Health care providers who received Provider Relief Fund payments exceeding $10,000 total between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2020, must report to the Health Resources and Services Administration by March 31 on how they used those funds or face enforcement actions such as repayment or exclusion from receiving or retaining future PRF payments.

The House Appropriations Committee announced an agreement on omnibus appropriations legislation funding the federal government through the end of the current fiscal year.