Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) News

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.

The AHA Board of Trustees adopted a policy statement that supports hospitals and health systems that adopt mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies, “with local factors and circumstances shaping whether and how these policies are implemented.”

The AHA, American Medical Association and American Nurses Association released a public service announcement urging the American public to “ask questions, follow the science and get vaccinated.”

The Department of Health and Human Services has renewed the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration for another 90 days effective July 20.

The Department of Health and Human Services should provide projected time frames for its planned spending of COVID-19 relief funds, including the Provider Relief Fund, to ensure accountability for these funds, the Government Accountability Office said in a report. 

The Health Resources and Services Administration Provider Relief Fund reporting portal remains open for providers to begin reporting to the government that they used federal emergency relief funds for health care-related expenses or lost revenues attributable to COVID-19.

The AHA told Senate leaders it strongly opposes proposals to rescind emergency funds from the Provider Relief Fund to offset the costs of an infrastructure proposal.