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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ECRI tested 34 disposable isolation gown models made by foreign or non-traditional suppliers and found that about half did not meet the minimum U.S. standard for liquid barrier protection, the organization said in a report released.
The Food and Drug Administration Nov. 10 issued an emergency use authorization for Eli Lilly and Company’s monoclonal antibody therapy, bamlanivimab.
The Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for the first serology test to identify individuals with neutralizing antibodies from recent or prior infection with the virus that causes COVID-19.
In a study of 106,543 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 between March and July, 9% were readmitted to the same hospital within two months of discharge, the Centers Disease Control and Prevention reported.
Pfizer Inc. announced that BNT162b2, its mRNA-based vaccine candidate, is more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19, based on early data that has yet to be peer-reviewed.
The Department of Health and Human Services should fully reinstate its June COVID-19 Provider Relief Fund reporting requirements, AHA said again in a letter to the agency. On Oct. 22, the department partially restored the requirements, but not the ability of hospitals to calculate lost revenue on a monthly basis or use a budgeted-to-actual comparison.
The AHA continued its ongoing effort to speak out against misinformation about federal relief funding for hospitals, challenging an assertion by an article in the Los Angeles Times that billions in federal funds allocated during the COVID-19 public health emergency is “padding bottom lines at some of the country’s most profitable businesses,” hospitals and health systems included.
Eligible family members of front-line health care workers and volunteers who lose their lives to COVID-19 can apply to the Brave of Heart Fund for grants to support common needs such as funeral costs, medical care, counseling, food, education, mortgage payments and living expenses.
by Rick Pollack
We shouldn’t be surprised by now, but 2020 continues to be an extraordinary year … and it’s not over yet.
by Rick Pollack
A recent article in the Los Angeles Times, “Trump doled out billions to drug makers and hospitals with few strings attached,” misses the mark. The reality is that America’s hospitals and health systems are facing their greatest financial crisis
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its recommended practices to prevent and control infection in health care settings during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
Tomorrow is the deadline for hospitals and other health care providers to apply for a portion of $20 billion in funds from the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund.
Pregnant women with COVID-19 are more likely than their non-pregnant counterparts to be admitted to an intensive care unit, receive invasive ventilation, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or die, according to a study of 461,825 women with symptomatic COVID-19 released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Food and Drug Administration reminded clinical laboratory staff and health care providers to follow recommended steps to prevent false positive results from antigen tests for the COVID-19 virus, citing reports of false positives in nursing homes and other settings.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would like to partner with one or more organizations to enable centralized reporting from COVID-19 testing entities to public health departments, the agency said this week in a request for information.
German biotech firm CureVac N.V. announced interim data from its ongoing Phase 1 dose-escalation study evaluating its CVnCoV SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate for safety, reactogenicity and immunogenicity.
AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack recently spoke with Modern Healthcare about a host of issues, including COVID-19, the future of the Affordable Care Act and the importance of preserving coverage, and what issues are at stake for hospitals and health systems during a lame-duck session of Congress.
The departments of Health and Human Services and Defense this weekend announced a pair of contracts to expand domestic COVID-19 testing capacity.
The AHA urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to immediately withdraw the new condition of participation that threatens to expel hospitals from the Medicare program if they fail to comply with “frequently changing and confusing” COVID-19 data collection efforts.
Friday, Nov. 6, is the deadline by which providers must apply to receive a portion of $20 billion in funds that will be distributed from the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund.