Older adults frequently experience cognitive impairment after recovering from COVID-19, according to three studies reported at an Alzheimer’s Association conference.
Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) News
Below are links to AHA Today stories on novel coronavirus (COVID-19). For all coronavirus resources and news updates, visit our COVID-19 page.
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Dr. Trestman and Dr. Hochman reflect on the far-reaching effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health and well-being of health care professionals, patients and families.
The Food and Drug Administration authorized using the monoclonal antibody therapy REGEN-COV for prevention in certain children and adults who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or not expected to mount an adequate immune response to vaccination.
The American Hospital Association and its Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development (SHSMD) July 15 hosted “Addressing COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Your Community,” a webinar centered on examining the root causes of vaccine hesitancy and how health care organizations can tailor their messaging to these groups to promote confidence.
Read a recap and insights from health care leaders during AHA’s July 15 webinar, “Addressing COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Your Community,” featuring messaging points tailored to specific communities and key lessons from a Kaiser Permanente study.
Three-quarters of the 469 COVID-19 cases associated with summer events and large public gatherings this month in Barnstable County, Mass., were in people fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
About 8.9 million children aged 12-17 have received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
AHA joined 27 other organizations that serve the mental, emotional and behavioral health of children in urging Congress to strengthen the pediatric mental health delivery system and infrastructure.
The COVID-19 Provider Relief Fund has been a lifeline for hospitals, health systems and health care providers, allowing them to continue to put the health and safety of patients and health care personnel first. In many cases, the funds ensured they were able to keep their doors open.
President Biden announced new actions to spur more vaccinations nationwide against COVID-19, due in part to the rise of the SARS-CoV-2 delta variant
AHA urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to make permanent COVID-19 waivers that removed regulatory barriers to better patient care, and temporarily extend certain other waivers beyond the public health emergency to help hospitals transition back to normal care delivery.
The Provider Relief Fund Deadline Extension Act (S. 2493/H.R. 4735) was introduced in the Senate and House. The AHA-supported bill would allow providers that received COVID-19 Provider Relief Fund payments prior to June 30, 2020, to use their payments through Dec. 31, 2021, or the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, whichever is later.
The AHA joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Medical Association in urging the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to void a district court decision that refused to allow the case to proceed in federal court and denied the full protections of the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act of 2005 for health care providers and other covered entities involved in the administration, manufacture, distribution, use or allocation of countermeasures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention adjusted its guidance for fully vaccinated individuals, urging indoor masking in states that are labeled as “high” or “substantial” in their number of cases, including schools, where all in attendance should wear masks.
Some individuals with “long COVID” may have a disability under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act and other civil rights laws that entitles them to protection from discrimination, the departments of Health and Human Services and Justice said in guidance released.
The AHA told Senate leaders it strongly opposed “any attempt to take away previously-appropriated funding for hospitals and health systems, physicians, nurses and other health care providers providing heroic care during a global pandemic,” and said it would be short-sighted to rescind COVID-19 Provider Relief Funding while COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths are surging again throughout the nation.
The AHA’s American Organization of Nursing Leadership affiliate, the American Nurses Association, and Johnson & Johnson released a report examining nurse-led innovations that improved patient care and outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic and opportunities to continue that progress going forward.
The widespread belief that we have completely turned the corner in our fight against COVID-19 does not apply equally to all parts of the country. In many states and communities, the rate of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths are moving in the wrong direction.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Sutter Health in Northern California used the range of its system to meet the needs of patients, staff and clinicians, from testing solutions to vaccine rollout.
U.S. life expectancy fell by an average of 1.5 years in 2020 to 77.3 years, primarily due to COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.