The AHA released a public service announcement urging the American public not to delay getting the preventive, scheduled and emergency services they need, and noting that hospitals and health systems are always there, ready to care. The PSA, available in English and Spanish, can be adapted by AHA members with their organization’s logo for their use.
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.
Latest
The Food and Drug Administration Oct. 12 issued an emergency use authorization for Abbott Laboratories’ AdviseDx SARS-CoV-2 IgM (Immunoglobulin M) lab-based serology test.
A new poll by Gallup is showing sharp declines in Americans’ willingness to be vaccinated for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
Drug maker Johnson & Johnson Oct. 12 announced the pause of its large-scale, pivotal, multi-country phase 3 trial for its JNJ-78436735 COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
The Department of Health and Human Services Oct. 9 published an FAQ saying that providers cannot use COVID-19 Provider Relief Fund distributions to repay payments made under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Accelerated and Advance Payment programs.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Oct. 9 announced a crackdown on labs that are testing for COVID-19 without proper Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments certification.
The Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Defense Oct. 9 announced support for AstraZeneca’s late-stage development and large-scale manufacturing of the AZD7442 investigational treatment for COVID-19.
We know that prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, demand for health care workers and health care job openings were at record highs. We also know that the pandemic created pressure to quickly ramp up staffing levels and optimize surge capacity, even as the cancellation of non-emergent surgeries caused serious financial challenges for hospitals and health systems.
The AHA joined five other national medical groups in urging the Department of Homeland Security to exclude foreign national physicians in the J-1 visa program from a proposed change to the process for extending certain non-immigrant visa stays in the United States.
Among 767 hotspot counties for COVID-19 in June and July, early increases in the rate of positive test results for Americans under age 25 were followed by several weeks of rising positivity rates in older age groups, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
The National Institutes of Health has launched a global clinical trial to test a potential COVID-19 treatment that combines remdesivir with a highly concentrated antibody solution.
A bipartisan group of 32 senators expressed concerns that the Department of Health and Human Services’ Sept. 19 change to COVID-19 Provider Relief Fund reporting requirements will create uncertainty and financial hardship for hospitals, particularly those in rural areas.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced new repayment terms for payments received under its Accelerated and Advance Payment programs, including a longer time period before repayment, lower recoupment rates during repayment, lower interest on remaining unpaid balance, and additional repayment flexibilities.
The Health Resources and Services Administration Oct. 15 at 3 p.m. ET will host a webcast to provide additional information on the latest round of COVID-19 Provider Relief Funds.
The Food and Drug Administration recommended that health care providers provide written or video step-by-step instructions, in addition to verbal instructions, to patients who are self-collecting anterior nares (nasal) samples for COVID-19 testing in a health care setting.
The Food and Drug Administration warned Battelle Memorial Institute that its respirator decontamination system does not comply with the requirement in its emergency use authorization to establish internal systems that provide for timely and effective identification, communication and evaluation of adverse events, and asked the device maker to submit a correction plan within 14 days.
The American Medical Association released for immediate use Current Procedural Terminology codes for reporting on medical claims two laboratory tests (87636 and 87637) that simultaneously detect the COVID-19 virus, influenza A/B and respiratory syncytial virus.
The National Institutes of Health’s Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics initiative awarded $98.4 million in contracts to scale up and manufacture new COVID-19 testing technologies.
The Food and Drug Administration released guidance and a briefing document outlining the key data needed to support an emergency use authorization for a COVID-19 vaccine candidate and further explaining the EUA process.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance on how COVID-19 spreads to acknowledge published reports showing “limited, uncommon” circumstances where people with COVID-19 infected others who were more than 6 feet away.