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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A new analysis by Global Health 50/50, an initiative to advance gender equality in global health, sheds light on sex disparities in COVID-19 deaths.
The Department of Health and Human Services announced the new option of saliva tests at federal community-based testing sites in areas experiencing COVID-19 surge.
Jim Skogsbergh, president and CEO of Advocate Aurora Health, will join AHA Board Chair Melinda Estes, M.D., Oct. 22 at 3:30 p.m. ET to discuss COVID-19’s impact on health trends and key strategies for reimagining and innovating care during and beyond the pandemic.
by Melinda L. Estes, M.D.
COVID-19 is a pandemic with no precedent, and certainly no equal. In many ways, we’ve been learning as we go. For health care professionals, this has elevated the importance of peer-to-peer sharing as never before.
A recent article on hospital field finances ignores the diverse experiences of hospitals during the pandemic, particularly those under significant financial pressure, writes Aaron Wesolowski, AHA’s vice president of policy research, analytics and strategy.
The National Institutes of Health announced the start of an adaptive phase 3 clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of three immune modulator drugs in hospitalized adults with COVID-19.
The Food and Drug Administration Oct. 15 said it reissued its emergency use authorization for certain, Chinese-manufactured filtering face-piece respirators that lack National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health approval.
The Food and Drug Administration Oct. 15 removed epinephrine from the lists of drugs authorized for temporary compounding during the COVID-19 public health emergency by outsourcing facilities and state-licensed pharmacies or federal facilities not registered as outsourcing facilities.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Oct. 15 said it will incentivize labs to deliver quicker results to patients undergoing COVID-19 diagnostic testing.
The Department of Health and Human Services announced agreements with CVS and Walgreens to provide and administer COVID-19 vaccines to long-term care facility residents.
by Aaron Wesolowski - AHA Vice President of Policy, Research, Analytics and Strategy
A recent article from Axios attempts to say that the hospital and health system field is not being negatively impacted financially by the pandemic. The article ignores the diverse experiences of hospitals during the pandemic, particularly those that are under significant financial pressure.
by Rick Pollack
Hospitals and health systems have reinvented themselves in many ways to respond to COVID-19. Since March, decades of standard operating procedures have been reexamined, redesigned and refined — all with the goal of saving lives while protecting caregivers and patients’ families during the pandemic.
Medicaid enrollment for fiscal year 2021 is expected to jump 8.2%, with state spending to accelerate by 8.4%, according to data from 42 state Medicaid directors and compiled by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The Federal Reserve will host a webinar Oct. 21 at 2 p.m. ET to help borrowers learn about the Main Street Lending Program and provide an opportunity for borrowers to get answers to specific questions on the program and its operations. Questions are to be submitted in advance to questions@askthefed.org by Oct. 16 at 5 p.m. ET. 
The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense awarded $481 million to Cue Health Inc. to expand production of a point-of-care COVID-19 molecular test with capabilities to produce results in 20 minutes.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added vaccine information to its COVID-19 webpage.
The National Institutes of Health Oct. 13 announced a study designed to identify promising COVID-19 therapies and investigational drugs that merit larger clinical trials.
The Food and Drug Administration Oct. 13 issued and immediately implemented enforcement policy for modifications to FDA-cleared molecular influenza and RSV tests during the COVID-19 public health emergency to expand access to certain FDA-cleared molecular tests for detecting and identifying flu viruses and respiratory syncytial viruses.
The NFL Players Association and AHA teamed up on a PSA to encourage individuals to wear masks to protect against COVID-19.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Oct. 22 at 2 p.m. ET will host a Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity webinar on improving clinicians’ understanding the relationship between COVID-19 and the concerns of people who use drugs or who have a substance use disorder.