Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) News

The AHA unveiled the latest component of the association’s Wear A Mask initiative, with new content and collaborations to share resources and amplify key public health messages to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Michelle Hood, AHA’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, previews the association’s Sept. 14-16 virtual conference, Navigating a New Reality: Health Care Leaders Confront the Future, sponsored by the AHA Center for Health Innovation and the Society for Health Care Strategy and Market Development to help health care leaders successfully move forward through COVID-19’s recovery, rebuilding and reimagining care delivery.

One in four U.S. counties, or 818,  were COVID-19 hotspots for at least one day in the period between March 8 and July 15, representing 80% of the U.S. population, according to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A test kit made by Thermo Fisher Scientific to detect COVID-19 from respiratory specimens may produce false positive results, the Food and Drug Administration warned.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance for determining when health care personnel with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 may return to work.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced it will resume routine inspections of all Medicare- and Medicaid-certified providers and suppliers that were previously suspended as part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services updated its guidance related to the 20% inpatient prospective payment system diagnosis-related group rate add-on for patients diagnosed with COVID-19.

Sustaining hospitals and health systems and positioning them for success moving forward is a chief focus of Navigating a New Reality: Health Care Leaders Confront the Future, a three-day virtual conference, Sept. 14-16, sponsored by the AHA Center for Health Innovation and the Society for Health Care Strategy and Market Development .

McKesson Corporation will serve as a central distributor of future COVID-19 vaccines and related supplies, the departments of Health and Human Services and Defense announced.

The Food and Drug Administration will host a webinar Aug. 18 at 12 p.m. ET on its umbrella emergency use authorization for certain disposable, single use surgical masks.

Almost 80 free-standing children’s hospitals will receive $1.4 billion in relief funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, the Department of Health and Human Services said.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency Aug. 10 issued a temporary final rule allocating certain health and medical resources exclusively for domestic use to ensure front line healthcare workers’ needs are met during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is yet no peace treaty or declaration of surrender in our own war with COVID-19, but we too must look ahead and start planning for what health care should look like in a post-pandemic world.

AdventHealth’s Central Florida division is weathering massive financial losses due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, with losses close to $263 million due in part to declines in so-called elective procedures and the need to source personal protective equipment to aid its pandemic response.

U.S. adults were more likely this June than a year ago to report adverse mental health conditions, substance use and suicidal ideation, according to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is tracking an unknown malicious cyber actor who is spoofing the Small Business Administration COVID-19 loan relief webpage via phishing emails, the agency announced.

The Department of Health and Human Services today said it will invest $6.5 million in two laboratories, Aegis Sciences Corporation and Sonic Healthcare USA, to add capacity for up to 4 million additional SARS-CoV-2 tests each month.

AHA, along with the American College of Surgeons, American Society of Anesthesiologists and Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, released Joint Statement: Roadmap for Maintaining Essential Surgery During COVID-19 Pandemic, an update to a previous joint statement released in April.

The Food and Drug Administration released FAQs describing the procedures for importing respirators, face masks, and other personal protective equipment or medical devices for which the agency has issued an emergency use authorization or enforcement discretion policy during the COVID-19 pandemic.