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Trump administration uses wartime powers to be first in line on medical supplies

The Trump administration quietly invoked the Defense Production Act to force medical suppliers in Texas and Colorado to sell to it first — ahead of states, hospitals or foreign countries.

3 Apr 2020

COVID-19: Guidance to support healthcare staff having difficult conversations about end of life

A Loughborough University academic is providing guidance to clinicians who are likely to be having - and training people who will have - difficult conversations with patients suffering from COVID-19 or those closest to them.

3 Apr 2020

I-Form uses 3D printing to provide PPE for health professionals fighting COVID-19

I-Form, the SFI Research Centre for Advanced Manufacturing (www.i-form.ie), is using its expertise in additive manufacturing (3D printing) to provide much-needed PPE (personal protective equipment) to frontline staff working across the health service in Dublin.

3 Apr 2020

Loss of smell hints at coronavirus infection

The most common signs and symptoms of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) include fever, dry cough, and difficulty of breathing. But patients who were infected recall another bizarre symptom tied to the coronavirus infection – loss of smell.

2 Apr 2020

MIT launches new technique to mass manufacture disposable face shields

The shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) available to healthcare professionals has become increasingly problematic as Covid-19 cases continue to surge.

2 Apr 2020

Designing face shields to protect healthcare workers treating COVID-19 patients

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented need to provide personal protective equipment for hospital staff.

2 Apr 2020

AGA publishes new COVID-19 recommendations for PPE during gastrointestinal procedures

Today, the American Gastroenterological Association published new COVID-19 recommendations in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the AGA: AGA Institute Rapid Recommendations for Gastrointestinal Procedures During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

1 Apr 2020

Beards and COVID-19 in the healthcare setting

A new opinion piece in The BMJ published in March 2020 discusses whether healthcare professionals should wear beards because of the risk that they could harbor the novel coronavirus.

1 Apr 2020

Researchers working on a solution to improve facemasks used by NHS Staff

Since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis the subject of personal protective equipment (PPE) has become a key discussion point.

1 Apr 2020

Will 'old faithful' tuberculosis BCG vaccine work against COVID?

All over the world, except in China, the place where it all began, the COVID-19 pandemic is making its relentless way through the population. So far, it has caused nearly 34,000 deaths – and the situation in the US is still worsening with over 142,000 cases and 2,489 deaths. In Australia, the number of cases has climbed to 4,093, with 16 fatalities.

29 Mar 2020

Physicians fear for their families as they battle coronavirus with too little armor

Dr. Jessica Kiss' twin girls cry most mornings when she goes to work. They're 9, old enough to know she could catch the coronavirus from her patients and get so sick she could die.

27 Mar 2020

Under financial strain, community health centers ramp up coronavirus response

On Tuesday, the Trump administration announced $100 million in supplemental funding for community health centers to support the response to the coronavirus pandemic.

27 Mar 2020

Hospital suppliers take to the skies to combat dire shortages of COVID-19 gear

Hospitals in the New York City area are turning to a private distributor to airlift millions of protective masks out of China.

25 Mar 2020

Seattle nurses scrounge for masks to stay safe on pandemic’s front lines

As the caseload of patients with the new coronavirus grows, masks and other personal protective equipment are in short supply — and nurses in Washington state are resorting to workarounds to try to stay safe.

23 Mar 2020

Three doctors succumb to coronavirus as Philippines scrambles to trace 215 people

The Philippines has reported a sharp increase in confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), with the death toll now at 33. The country has also seen the fall of front liner health workers amid the coronavirus fight, with three doctors succumbing to the infection.

23 Mar 2020

Some hospitals continue with elective surgeries despite COVID-19 crisis

In the same week that physicians at the University of California-San Francisco medical center were wiping down and reusing protective equipment like masks and gowns to conserve resources amid a surge of COVID-19 patients, 90 miles away teams of doctors at UC Davis Medical Center were fully suited up performing breast augmentations, hip replacements and other elective procedures that likely could have been postponed.

21 Mar 2020

Mask shortage straps pharmacists who need them to keep medicines pure

Pharmacy staff who prepare IV drugs inside hospitals are the latest health care workers decrying a shortage of masks as they scramble to prepare medications for patients with everything from cancer to COVID-19.

20 Mar 2020

Best practices shown to protect healthcare workers from COVID-19

In a new study published on March 5th, 2020, in the journal Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, researchers claim that the meticulous application of best practices for infection control does protect healthcare workers from the COVID-19 illness.

5 Mar 2020

Coronavirus is mutating with a second strain identified by scientists

The coronavirus is mutating as scientists identified a second strain, which is more aggressive and contagious.

5 Mar 2020

Protective gear to fight coronavirus depleting, WHO warns

Amid the global health crisis of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) warns that there is a shortage of protective gear, and this endangers healthcare workers.

4 Mar 2020