News

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services yesterday began publicly sharing COVID-19 vaccination rates for nursing home staff and residents on its Care Compare website. 

The House last night voted 220-211 to pass a continuing resolution that would generally extend current federal funding levels for health care and all other programs through Dec. 3.

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations today held a hearing examining the impact of COVID-19 on children.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the first biosimilar to treat neovascular age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of vision loss and blindness for seniors.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services granted certain Medicare quality reporting exceptions to acute-care hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, prospective payment system-exempt cancer hospitals, inpatient psychiatric facilities, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, long-term care hospitals and skilled nursing facilities in counties affected by Hurricane Ida.

Clinicians caring for individuals recently evacuated from Afghanistan should alert their state or local health department of suspected measles cases, and recommend the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine for unvaccinated patients, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised, noting that 16 confirmed cases of measles and four cases of mumps have been reported among evacuees to date.

In a study reported in JAMA Network Open, rural hospital mergers were associated with lower mortality for patients admitted to the hospital for heart attack, heart failure, stroke and pneumonia.

Johnson & Johnson said its phase 3 trial data confirms its vaccine’s durability and provided evidence of a second, booster shot’s effectiveness against COVID-19.

The House is expected to consider a continuing resolution that would generally extend current federal funding levels for health care and all other programs through Dec. 3.

U.S. hospitals will lose an estimated $54 billion in net income this year, even after federal relief funds, as higher labor and other expenses and sicker patients impact their financial health during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report by Kaufman, Hall & Associates released by the AHA.

The Brigham Comprehensive Opioid Response and Education program and McLean Hospital of Belmont, Mass., on Sept. 21 at 12 p.m. ET will host a town hall virtual event, during which experts and those with experience with substance misuse and treatment will discuss COVID-19’s impact on these experiences, as well as solutions.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services awarded 20 states American Rescue Plan Act grants to develop and implement mobile crisis intervention services for people experiencing a substance use-related or mental health crisis.

President Biden added measles to the list of quarantinable diseases, as recommended by Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, M.D.

The Food and Drug Administration authorized administering the monoclonal antibodies bamlanivimab and etesevimab together to prevent COVID-19 in certain children and adults exposed to SARS-CoV-2 who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and at high-risk for progressing to severe disease. 

The Food and Drug Administration alerted clinical laboratory staff and health care providers to the potential for false positive results with two test kits made by Abbott Molecular to detect SARS-CoV-2.

Pfizer released the first data evaluating a COVID-19 vaccine’s safety and effectiveness for children between the ages of 5 and 11.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released a final rule with additional policies for health insurance issuers and the Health Insurance Marketplaces for plan years 2022 and beyond.

News coverage continues to show that many hospitals have been stretched beyond capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each wave has brought incredible pressure on our health care workforce, and the physical and emotional exhaustion is leading to ever greater staff shortages at hospitals. 

The Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee by a unanimous vote recommended that the FDA issue an emergency use authorization that would enable COVID-19 vaccine boosters for individuals age 65 and older and those at high risk for severe COVID-19, administered at least six months after a completed initial two-dose mRNA regimen.

For nearly 20 grueling months, hospitals and health systems – and their steadfast front-line caregivers – have risen to the incredible challenges caused by COVID-19.