Researchers at Texas A&M University in College Station have identified a new coronavirus variant, according to an April 19 news release.

The American Hospital Association urged CMS in an April 19 letter to allow additional suspensions on hospital surveys in case COVID-19 cases surge.

Maine has the highest percentage of its population fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the CDC's COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration data tracker.

New Hampshire and Wisconsin have administered the highest percentage of COVID-19 vaccines they have received, according to the CDC's COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration data tracker. However, an apparent discrepancy, noted below, puts into question the accuracy of New Hampshire's data.

As of April 20, more than 567,000 people in the U.S. have died after contracting COVID-19, according to The New York Times.

Jackson-based University of Mississippi Medical Center has received a $3.8 million grant  from the Bower Foundation that will go to creating healthcare administrators and community college nursing educators, reports CBS affiliate WJTV. 

COVID-19 patients have a higher risk of postoperative death and hospital-acquired conditions compared to patients without the coronavirus who undergo surgery, according to a study published April 12 in JAMA Network Open. 

Below are 16 hospitals and health systems that recently posted job listings seeking chief nursing officers. 

Early in the pandemic, the U.S. implemented a major effort to use convalescent plasma as an experimental treatment for COVID-19. Evidence about the treatment's efficacy has been underwhelming, spurring many hospitals to abandon their plasma treatment programs, reports The New York Times.

Colorado is on the verge of a fourth COVID-19 surge as cases and hospitalizations rise, officials said. At the same time, the state has relaxed some of its pandemic safety regulations, The New York Times reported April 18. 

The nation has watched as COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths surge in Michigan, which experts believe may be due, in part, to a high level of variant spread. 

The world has not made significant progress in developing new antibiotics to fight drug-resistant infections, the World Health Organization said in a new report.

The seven-day average number of COVID-19 vaccines administered daily was 3.3 million as of April 15, a 10.3 percent increase from the previous week's average, according to the CDC's COVID Data Tracker Weekly Review published April 16. 

Early research estimates have shown anywhere between 10 percent to 30 percent of people with COVID-19 go on to become long-haulers, or those who experience persistent symptoms weeks or months after the infection has cleared. With more than 31.2 million COVID-19 cases reported in the U.S., and with the pandemic still raging, the number of people who are or will experience long-term effects presents health systems a profound challenge. 

All states reported minimal flu activity for the 11th consecutive week, excluding Washington, D.C., which reported insufficient data, according to the CDC's FluView report for the week ending April 10.

The CDC is urging public health powers to improve HIV prevention and treatment for transgender women, according to a National HIV Behavioral Surveillance report published in April. 

Millions of Americans have immune systems weakened by certain diseases, cancer therapies and other factors, leaving them unable to produce an adequate level of COVID-19 antibodies after a prior infection or after vaccination, The New York Times reported April 15. 

The White House is allocating $1.7 billion from the American Rescue Plan to improve the detection, surveillance and mitigation of coronavirus variants, President Joe Biden said April 16. 

The Colorado Department of Health and Environment is advising individuals who received vaccines at Colorado Springs-based Dr. Moma Health and Wellness Clinic to consider the vaccination invalid, according to an April 13 news release. 

Examining who experiences rare breakthrough COVID-19 infections after vaccination can help improve our understanding of who is vulnerable and whether variants are at play, but these thorough investigations are often not occuring, according to an investigative report ProPublica published April 14.