For nurses across the U.S., various words come to mind when describing the latest COVID-19 surge, from exhausting and mind-blowing to eerie and challenging. 

Hospitals lost jobs in December for the second straight month, according to the latest jobs report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Connecticut Hospital Association is requiring a COVID-19 booster dose as part of its statewide mandatory vaccination policy for hospital and health system workers and clinical staff, the association said Jan. 6. 

Just over 19 percent — or 1,167 of 6,051 — of all hospitals in the U.S. are experiencing critical staffing shortages, according to HHS data posted Jan. 6.

Nurse practitioners play an integral role in providing healthcare and work in various settings, including hospitals, physician offices and clinics.

The number of hospitals and health systems requiring COVID-19 booster shots for employees is growing as the pandemic continues in the U.S.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Jan. 5 announced a $10 billion, multiyear investment in healthcare, which includes $4 billion for wages and bonuses for healthcare workers.

As hospitals across the U.S. face a COVID-19 surge and exacerbated staffing challenges, more states are enlisting National Guard members to support overwhelmed facilities, according to CNN.

Beth Israel Lahey Health and Mass General Brigham are among the major Massachusetts health systems to mandate COVID-19 boosters for their workforces, The Boston Globe reported Jan. 4. 

Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic will fire about 1 percent of its 73,000-person workforce because of noncompliance with the health system's required COVID-19 vaccination program, according to a statement shared with Becker's.

The quit rate for American workers saw yet another series high in November 2021, reaching 4.5 million, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Jan. 4.

Nurse employment remained low while wages increased during the first 15 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting a tightening labor market in which demand outpaced supply, according to a study published Jan. 4 in Health Affairs.

Summa Health in Akron, Ohio, has updated its employee COVID-19 quarantine protocol to allow employees who test positive to return to work if they have no or mild symptoms, a health system spokesperson confirmed to Becker's. 

Seventeen states are experiencing critical staffing shortages in at least 25 percent of their hospitals, according to HHS data posted Jan. 3.

The most recent COVID-19 surge amid the spread of the omicron variant has sidelined healthcare workers for reasons related to the coronavirus.

CMS has released guidance and survey procedures for the 25 states where its COVID-19 vaccination mandate for healthcare workers is not currently blocked. 

More than 3,000 caregivers across the Cleveland Clinic health system were out with COVID-19 as of Dec. 30, a spokesperson told Becker's. 

Three-fourths of healthcare facilities in the U.S. are seeking temporary allied healthcare professionals, mainly to fill gaps while permanent workers are being hired, according to a Dec. 29 survey from AMN Healthcare.

Sixteen states are experiencing critical staffing shortages in at least 25 percent of their hospitals, according to HHS data posted Dec. 28.

Pennsylvania hospitals will receive strike teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to relieve capacity strains at hospitals in areas hit hardest by the latest COVID-19 surge, acting Secretary of Health Keara Klinepeter confirmed Dec. 28.