The Department of Health and Human Services amended its declaration under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act to expand access to COVID-19 medical countermeasures through telehealth and clarify the scope of liability protections.
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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Two hundred twenty-four. That’s the number of days since the last COVID-19 relief package was signed into law.
The AHA recently joined a non-partisan coalition, Get Covered 2021, to promote tools to stop the spread of COVID-19 and expand health coverage to millions of uninsured Americans. Molly Smith, AHA vice president of coverage and state issues forum, explains how hospitals and health systems can get involved in this meaningful effort to improve the overall health of individuals and communities.
The FDA this week revised and reissued its August emergency use authorization for COVID-19 convalescent plasma to treat hospitalized patients with COVID-19. The revised EUA adds the Mount Sinai COVID-19 ELISA IgG Antibody Test as an acceptable test for qualifying high and low titer COVID-19 convalescent plasma.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced shorter quarantine options based on local circumstances and resources, for people exposed to the COVID-19 virus.
The AHA launched a new periodic report to convey to congressional staff hospitals’ and health systems’ desperate need for a new COVID-19 relief package.
Reps. Bradley Schneider, D-Ill., and David McKinley, R-W.Va., introduced the Medicare Sequester COVID Moratorium Act, AHA-supported legislation that would extend the moratorium on the Medicare sequester cuts through the COVID-19 pandemic.
An independent advisory group for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended health care personnel and long-term care facility residents receive vaccinations against COVID-19 in the program’s initial phase.
The Department of Health and Human Services should provide greater flexibility around health care staffing, provider resource allocation and accessibility to care, the AHA said in a letter to the agency.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held a hearing on defending communities from cyber threats during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looks at an outbreak of Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB), an antibiotic-resistant bacteria, at a New Jersey hospital managing resource shortages during a surge in COVID-19 patients.
In an open letter to the American public, the AHA, along with the American Medical Association and American Nurses Association, affirmed their support for vaccines as a critical means for protecting individuals, communities and loved ones from COVID-19.
A bipartisan group in the Senate introduced a $908 billion proposal aimed at breaking the stalemate over more COVID-19 relief.
In a study of 156 front-line hospital workers who tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, 94% had lower antibody levels 60 days later, including 28% whose antibodies fell below the threshold for a positive test result, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
Over the next several months, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases expects to enroll up to 1,500 adult COVID-19 hospital patients who require supplemental oxygen in a global clinical trial that aims to determine whether baricitinib or dexamethasone is more effective at preventing mechanical ventilation or death when administered with remdesivir.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has assigned Medicare Severity-Diagnosis-Related Groups to six new ICD-10 diagnosis codes for reporting conditions related to COVID-19 on medical claims effective Jan. 1.
The Department of Health and Human Services seeks comments for 30 days from health care providers and other stakeholders on the need to make permanent any regulatory flexibilities the agency has implemented in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency.
As urged by the AHA, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services gave hospitals facing a surge in COVID-19 patients expanded flexibility to care for Medicare patients outside their walls.
The Food and Drug Administration has posted a webpage with answers to frequently asked questions about face masks, surgical masks and respirators for COVID-19.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its recommendations for COVID-19 testing before and after international air travel.