NEWS
DeSantis says he's against a plan to shift money from school districts over mask mandates
Gov. Ron DeSantis indicated Friday he does not support a House proposal that would shift $200 million away from 12 school districts that required students to wear masks last year during the COVID-19 pandemic. DeSantis said Friday that he would rather allow lawsuits against the districts instead of shifting away the money. Read more. Health News Florida, February 14, 2022
Republicans call on Biden to end COVID's public health emergency designation
Their request for the president to undo the designation comes as calls grow — including from former Biden advisers — for the federal government to chart a course for the next stage of the pandemic. Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations have plunged after the dramatic omicron-driven surge, and deaths have begun falling as well, though the seven-day average was still 2,300 deaths per day, as of Thursday. Read more. Health News Florida, February 14, 2022
FDA OKs new monoclonal antibody to treat Omicron
Bebtelovimab is authorized for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in individuals ages 12 and up who are at risk of progressing to severe disease. Importantly, "laboratory testing showed that bebtelovimab retains activity against both the Omicron variant and the BA.2 Omicron subvariant," the agency added, without providing any more specifics. Read more. MedPage Today, February 11, 2022
Florida House passes COVID legal protections for health care providers
The bill, which would extend protection for hospitals, nursing homes and other providers through June 1, 2023, now heads to Gov. Ron DeSantis for signing. Read more. Health News Florida, February 11, 2022
CDC cuts booster interval for the immunocompromised
It is now recommended that people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised receive a booster 3 months, down from 5 months previously, after the third dose of an mRNA vaccine, for a total of four doses. Guidance also updated for people vaccinated outside the U.S., and following COVID treatment. Read more. MedPage Today, February 11, 2022
CDC announces voluntary COVID rules for cruises
The CDC released new guidelines on Wednesday for a voluntary COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships, which includes different levels based on the vaccination status of passengers and crew. The levels change how long passengers are recommended to quarantine after coronavirus exposure and masking requirements. Read more. MedScape, February 11, 2022
To encourage physicians’ healing, make it OK to ask for help
Corey Feist lost his beloved sister-in-law Lorna Breen, M.D., to death by suicide. Now he fights, alongside the AMA, to protect health care heroes. Learn about this important work.
The HCMA Foundation Physician Wellness Program provides a safe harbor for members to address life difficulties, especially during this time of uncertainty, challenges, and increased stress due to the ongoing threat of COVID-19. This complimentary and completely confidential benefit is available for all members, regardless of membership category
REPORTS
Florida's COVID positivity rate and death toll are trending downward
The number of people testing positive for COVID-19 continues to drop, while deaths related to the disease declined for the first time since mid-December. Read more. Health News Florida, February 14, 2022
Many faith leaders are wary of religious exemptions for COVID vaccine
By the thousands, Americans have been seeking religious exemptions to COVID-19 vaccine mandates, but generally they are doing so without the encouragement of major denominations and prominent religious leaders. Read more. Health News Florida, February 14, 2022
Why millions on Medicaid are at risk of losing coverage in the months ahead
The Biden administration and state officials are bracing for a great unwinding: millions of people losing their Medicaid benefits when the pandemic health emergency ends. Some might sign up for different insurance. Many others are bound to get lost in the transition. Read more. Health News Florida, February 14, 2022
U.S. COVID vaccine for children under 5 delayed by at least 2 months
On February 11, the agency said it had reviewed new trial information that arrived after Pfizer and BioNTech's request for emergency authorization and decided it needed more data before weighing in on the authorization. Read more. Reuters, February 11, 2022
REFLECTIONS
COVID-19 live updates: How are COVID-19 deaths counted, and what does this mean?
In slightly more than 2 years, authorities have recorded 5.75 million COVID-19 deaths worldwide. Some people believe that this is an overestimate of the actual mortality from the disease. Others think COVID-19 has caused many more deaths than the official figures show. Medical News Today has looked at the evidence and spoken with experts to uncover the truth behind the numbers. Read more. Medical News Today, February 14, 2022
Should we incentivize community providers to encourage COVID vaccination?
What has held true throughout this last year of the pandemic is the COVID-19 vaccine's ability to protect us from hospitalization and death. Paired with signs that a portion of the unvaccinated can be convinced to change their minds, with some polls showing a slight drop in individuals who say they will not get vaccinated, we must incentivize and invest in the most trusted COVID-19 vaccine messengers to reach those individuals. All public health is local. Read more. MedPage Today, February 11, 2022
Threats, intimidation against doctors and health workers must end
The AMA has advocated against the culture of violence in America, including domestic violence, gun violence, racism, police brutality, and xenophobia; and violence against physicians and health professionals is no exception. While not a new occurrence, the reported uptick in intimidation, threats and attacks toward people in the medical field has been on the rise for at least the last decade and has become even more of an alarming phenomenon since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more. Gerald E. Harmon, MD, AMA President, February 3, 2022
What doctors wish patients knew about COVID-19 oral antivirals
Vaccination is the best protection against COVID-19. An infectious disease specialist explains what to know about Paxlovid and molnupiravir. Learn more with the AMA.
