Hospitals should take more aggressive measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in hospitals amid the omicron driven surge, physicians from Cambridge, Mass.-based Harvard University and Stanford (Calif.) University wrote in an editorial piece published Jan. 24 in JAMA. 

An estimated 1.27 million people around the world died directly from antimicrobial-resistant bacterial infections in 2019, according to a study published Jan. 19 in The Lancet. Antimicrobial resistance was also a factor in nearly 5 million deaths globally, the estimates show. 

University Medical Center New Orleans, part of LCMC Health, reported Louisiana's first two known cases of Candida auris, a deadly, drug-resistant fungus, on Jan. 18,  according to nola.com.

A team of researchers from New Haven, Conn.-based Yale University have developed a wearable air sampler device meant to monitor personal exposure to the coronavirus. 

Cranston, R.I.-based Eleanor Slater Hospital reported 28 patients tested positive for COVID-19 Jan. 6 across multiple campuses, The Boston Globe reported Jan 6.

A common type of N95 respirator can be safely reprocessed up to 25 times using vaporized hydrogen peroxide, a study published Jan. 5 in the Journal of Infection Control found.

Amid surging demand for rapid COVID-19 antigen tests, a small real-world study suggests they may not be a reliable tool to curb transmission. 

Citing community transmission and record high cases of COVID-19 as the omicron variant spreads, U.S. hospitals and health systems are urging patients and visitors to opt for medical-grade face masks instead of cloth versions.

Mayo Clinic is tightening visitor guidelines at its flagship campus in Rochester, Minn., effective Jan. 3. 

Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic is prohibiting certain types of face coverings and urging patients and visitors to ditch the cloth versions, citing the variability in cloth mask performance.

Infection with the highly transmissible omicron COVID-19 variant may lead to a fourfold increase in protection against the delta strain, according to early study findings from the Africa Health Research Institute published Dec. 28. 

Candida auris, a deadly, drug-resistant fungus, has been detected in three Salem (Ore.) Health patients, marking the state's first cases of the infection. 

New York City Health and Hospitals, which operates the city's 11 public hospitals, put visitation limitation policies in place Dec. 22 after visitors were linked to a COVID-19 outbreak at one facility, The New York Times reported.

In an effort to prevent further strain on the healthcare system, U.S. health officials may soon trim the 10-day isolation period recommended by the CDC for asymptomatic healthcare workers with COVID-19. 

The Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality has granted $2.5 million to Cleveland Clinic to lead a clinical trial that studies ways to cut the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics among patients with community-acquired pneumonia, the health system said Dec. 9. 

Eleven employees at Kaiser Permanente Oakland (Calif.) Medical Center tested positive for COVID-19 after attending a wedding Nov. 27 in Wisconsin, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens hasn't reported any central line-associated bloodstream infections among intensive care unit patients for three consecutive years, the New York City-based hospital said Dec. 7. 

The CDC has given $22 million to 28 organizations to fight antimicrobial resistance and infectious diseases, according to a Dec. 7 news release.

The use of daily COVID-19 attestation forms in hospitals are effective at identifying healthcare workers who may have COVID-19 and help prevent the virus's spread, new findings from researchers at Boston-based Brigham and Women's Hospital suggest. 

At least 18 patients at Chicago-based Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical Center have tested positive for COVID-19 after a sick staff member worked for several days, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Nov. 30.