News

The Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee by a unanimous vote recommended that the FDA issue an emergency use authorization that would enable COVID-19 vaccine boosters for individuals age 65 and older and those at high risk for severe COVID-19, administered at least six months after a completed initial two-dose mRNA regimen.

For nearly 20 grueling months, hospitals and health systems – and their steadfast front-line caregivers – have risen to the incredible challenges caused by COVID-19. 

Percy Allen II, past president of the National Association of Health Services Executives, died Sept. 12 at age 80. Among other leadership positions, he served as assistant administrator at Parkview Memorial Hospital in Ft. Wayne, Ind.; CEO at North Central Bronx Hospital in New York; vice president of hospital affairs/CEO at University of Brooklyn SUNY Health Science Center; and CEO of Bon Secours Health System. 

The AHA and its Institute for Diversity and Health Equity are now accepting applications for the 2022 Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Awards. The awards recognize hospitals and health systems that are proactive in advancing diversity, health equity and equitable health care through data, leadership, governance, cultural awareness and community partnerships.

Ahead of National Physician Suicide Awareness Day, on Sept. 17, read how health care workers, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, faced elevated rates of burnout, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide, in this blog by J. Corey Feist, co-founder of the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation.

In a new blog, Kurt Hoppe, M.D., faculty member of the Mayo Clinic and member of the AHA’s Post-acute Steering Committee, explains the importance of post-acute care providers in the nation’s COVID-19 response and recovery, as well as the newest updates to the post-acute care payment model plan – which would combine payments for the four post-acute care settings – and of which AHA has significant concerns. 

The AHA has received a $1 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to continue for one year its efforts to encourage COVID-19 vaccine confidence in the hospital field, clinicians and the public.

A pair of peer-reviewed studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine are affirming the safety and effectiveness of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, first at six months following a completed, two-dose regimen, and then with boosters.

The Food and Drug Administration released updated enforcement policy related to face masks, barrier face coverings, face shields, surgical masks and respirators for the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency.

The AHA released a new issue of the COVID-19 Snapshot, underscoring the persisting challenges facing hospitals and health systems during the ongoing public health emergency.