More than 198.3 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered as of Thursday in the US, with nearly 78.5 million people now fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. More than 125.8 million people have been given at least one dose, with more than 7.7 million vaccine doses administered to people in long-term-care facilities.

Visit the COVID Vaccine Facts for Nurses website for relevant, accurate and up-to-date information as well as expert perspectives about the safety, efficacy and importance of COVID-19 vaccines.

An analysis of data from 2007 to 2018 in JAMA Psychiatry found that women who are nurses were about twice as likely to die of suicide as women in the general population. Overall, nurses were about 18% more likely to die by suicide than the general population.

Several colleges have stopped distributing the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after the CDC paused use of the drug after reports of blood clots. Schools that are using the Pfizer vaccine are continuing their efforts to get as many students vaccinated for fall as mandated by an increasing number of schools.

New research has found that increased mortality risk was associated with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonization in community-dwelling adults aged 40 to 85. The study in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine recommended further research on MRSA colonization among community-dwelling adults.

A study is underway in the UK that will test and observe the outcomes of patients who receive two-dose inoculations using different COVID-19 vaccines, which will now include those from Moderna and Novavax. Participants in the Com-Cov trial, launched in February, who will have received either the AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccine in the previous 8 to 12 weeks, will be randomly administered either the same vaccine, or the Moderna or Novavax vaccine, for a second dose.

The COVID-19 pandemic changed how hospitals view post-acute patient discharges, and that may be a catalyst for joint ventures between skilled nursing facilities and hospitals to increase integration, experts told a National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care webinar. Mark Terpylak of Summa Health said hospitals used to look at what levels of care patients would qualify for but now first determine whether patients can be discharged and supported at home.

A study in Pediatrics found an increased risk for firearm injuries among children below age 12 as well as injuries inflicted by children below age 12 during the COVID-19 pandemic, compared with before the pandemic. "There is an urgent need for enactment of both interventions in the local health care setting and state and federal level legislation aimed at preventing firearm injuries and deaths involving children during the COVID-19 pandemic," the researchers wrote.

Apple is recruiting volunteers for a study of whether the Apple Watch 6's blood oxygen and heart rate sensors can detect early signs of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses, including influenza.

A law enacted in Virginia creates a rebuttable presumption that firefighters, emergency medical services personnel and law enforcement officers who fall ill with COVID-19 contracted the coronavirus on the job. The legislation applies to workers' compensation claims filed after July 1, 2020, and it will remain in effect through Dec. 31.

Combined enrollment in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program climbed by 10.8% to 78.9 million from February to November 2020 after two years of decline, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis. The report attributed the increase to the regulatory and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with expanded Medicaid eligibility in three states, with Medicaid seeing enrollment growth of 11.8%, compared with 1.5% for CHIP.

Enrollment for the fourth iteration of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases-sponsored Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial has been closed after an independent data and safety monitoring board determined that neither dexamethasone plus Gilead Sciences' Veklury, or intravenous remdesivir, or Eli Lilly and Co.'s Olumiant, or baricitinib, plus remdesivir will outperform the other. The late-stage study could be finished by June 30.

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As a nurse, having access to trustworthy, accurate information is vital. Project ECHO is one part of Project Firstline, a collaborative partnership offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide infection prevention and control (IPC) education for healthcare professionals. Project ECHO aims to improve the dissemination of best practices by providing free, virtual forums to nurses in all practice settings and locations, including rural and underserved areas. Register for Spring/Summer 2021 ANA IPC Fundamentals ECHO.