COVID-19: Caring for Patients and Communities

Rates of falls, bloodstream infections from central line catheters, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, pressure ulcers and pneumonia associated with ventilator use increased significantly during the pandemic and have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels, a study found.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reminding clinicians and other health care workers to take necessary steps to keep themselves and their patients’ safe during respiratory virus season.
A higher-quality nurse work environment was associated with a 20% lower COVID-19 mortality rate among socially vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries, according to a recent study published in INQUIRY.
Sepsis-related inpatient stays at U.S. hospitals rose from 1.8 million in 2016 to 2.5 million in 2021, with a faster rate of increase once COVID-19 emerged in 2020, according to an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality report submitted to Congress.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Tri-Council for Nursing will host a webinar to help nurses and other health professionals prepare for the 2024-2025 fall/winter respiratory virus season on Sept. 16 from 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 data tracker shows an 18.1% test positivity rate for the week ending Aug. 10, the highest rate since January 2022.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 and flu vaccines for this fall and winter.
Children younger than two years and adults aged 50 years and older who received a second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine five months after getting the first vaccine were less likely to be hospitalized or die, according to a study.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week released updated guidance dropping the five-day isolation period for people diagnosed with COVID-19.