The Emergency Nurses Association selected Ron Kraus, MSN, RN, as the association's 50th president Jan. 1. 

James Mikolajczak-LaRosa, DNP, RN, died Jan. 1 after being diagnosed with COVID-19 two months ago, reports WISN-TV.

Working from home and taking up new physical activities has prompted an uptick in local physical therapy demand, the Chicago Tribune reports. 

The U.S. surpassed its previous COVID-19 hospitalization record Jan. 4, with 128,210 virus patients hospitalized, according to data from The COVID Tracking Project.  

New York has confirmed its first case of a more contagious variant of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, that was initially discovered in the U.K., CNBC reports.

The percentage of positive COVID-19 increased among infants, children and teenagers in late December, according to the CDC's latest COVIDView report published Jan. 4. 

Hundreds of New Jersey healthcare workers who were first to receive initial COVID-19 vaccine doses last month started receiving their second and final doses, reports CBS New York. 

About 19 percent of people who were exposed to COVID-19 and remained negative or asymptomatic through the first week developed an infection by the end of the 14-day quarantine period, according to the CDC's Jan. 1 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 

Three states are reporting low to moderate flu activity for the week ending Dec. 26, according to the CDC's FluView report.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed legislation that allows nurse practitioners to practice independently Jan. 1, making it the 23rd state to adopt full practice authority. 

Researchers have identified more than 200 long-term symptoms that can affect COVID-19 "long haulers," or people who experience prolonged effects from the virus, according to a survey published Dec. 24 in the medical preprint server medRxiv.

The fast-spreading COVID-19 variant originating in the U.K. has been detected in 33 countries, while South Africa has reported a new, potentially more concerning variant, reports The New York Times and WNBC.

The nation's COVID-19 death toll hit another grim milestone Jan. 4, surpassing 350,000 deaths, according to data from Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University. 

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city will do "whatever it takes" to vaccinate 1 million residents against COVID-19 in January, CNBC reported Dec. 31. 

Amid a nationwide nursing shortage exacerbated by the pandemic, Columbus, Miss.-based Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle is now offering a $5,000 signing bonus during the hiring process, local CBS affiliate WCBI reported Dec. 30. 

The U.S. saw 125,220 COVID-19 hospitalizations and 3,903 COVID-19 deaths Dec. 30, both daily records, according to data from The COVID-19 Tracking Project.  

A nurse in Augusta, Ga., applied to renew her nursing license in October and is still waiting for the Secretary of State's office to process it, local NBC affiliate WRDW reported Dec. 29. 

With just more than 2 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered so far, the U.S. likely won't hit its goal to administer initial vaccine doses to 20 million people by the end of the year, CNBC reports. 

Nine U.S. regions saw stable or declining levels of outpatient visits for flu or COVID-19 in mid-December, according to the CDC's latest COVIDView report published Dec. 28. 

In January, HHS will lead an educational COVID-19 vaccine campaign to encourage people to get vaccinated, USA Today reports.