The US reported a seven-day average of about 144,300 new COVID-19 cases as of Sunday, down 12% from the prior week, but the weekly average for mortality reached more than 1,600 per day, up 4% from the previous week, according to Johns Hopkins University. The rate of new cases is declining in some states that were hit hard by the Delta variant this summer, but the variant is still taking hold in other parts of the country such as West Virginia and Kentucky, which are seeing record numbers of new cases.

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 online survey of 886 advanced practice registered nurses reported in the Journal of Pediatric Health Care found 34% of were moderately or extremely concerned about professional burnout. "This problem is, of course, multifactorial, with isolation, loss of safety net services, family stressors and trauma, and deferred care and services all compounding this issue across communities worldwide," said co-principal investigator Jennifer Sonne, secretary of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners.

Data from more than 20,000 patients with cirrhosis, which was compared with data from the same number in a control group, associated one dose of a messenger RNA vaccine for COVID-19 with a lower risk of infection and 100% protection against hospitalization and death from the coronavirus, according to a study in JAMA Internal Medicine. The study was conducted in March, and more tests are needed to see whether the Delta variant has affected the results, according to lead author Binu V. John, MD, MPH, of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

The children of mothers who were overweight during their pregnancy might be more likely to develop attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, according to a study found in Translational Psychiatry. "The genetics we can't modify, but we can support women with reducing their pre-pregnancy weight if they have a high BMI (body mass index) and they are trying to conceive," said professor Alina Rodriguez of Imperial College London.

Researchers studied 175 children who were diagnosed with acute SARS-CoV-2 infection in the emergency department and found that 11 presented with seizures. The findings in Seizure also showed that five of the 11 children presented with convulsive status epilepticus, all of whom exhibited response to loading doses of anti-seizure medications, while six children presented with fever and seven had previous history of neurological disorder.

The US seven-day average for newly reported COVID-19 cases dropped 12.7% to 136,558 last week, the first weekly decline since June 25, according to the CDC. The weekly average for COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths also fell 4.1% and 11.3%, respectively, while analysis of specimens obtained in the two weeks ending Sept. 4 showed the Delta variant was responsible for more than 99% of all cases.

Medical device manufacturers are funding the University of Minnesota's new Center for Medical Device Cybersecurity, which is focusing on protecting medical devices from cyberattacks. The center will host several events during its first year, including a hackathon, and create a course on medical device cybersecurity and a summer internship program.

A group of scientists from the FDA and the World Health Organization penned an article in The Lancet arguing against widespread administration of COVID-19 vaccine boosters at this time, saying existing evidence does not support a need for boosters in the general population. The CDC reported that 380.8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered as of Monday morning, with nearly 179 million people fully vaccinated and an estimated 1.82 million immunocompromised people having received a third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccine since Aug. 13.

President Joe Biden announced on Thursday a six-part plan to combat the latest COVID-19 surge, including a mandate that most federal employees, contractors and health care workers be vaccinated, and that employers with more than 100 workers impose vaccine rules or weekly testing -- changes that could affect up to 100 million Americans. The administration will also increase shipments of COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatments, impose higher fines on people who fail to wear masks on trains, buses and airplanes, and invest $2 billion to increase production of rapid and home COVID-19 tests.

HHS will distribute $25.5 billion in COVID-19 relief funds from the American Rescue Plan to help hospitals and other health care providers hit by the pandemic, following pressure from lawmakers and medical groups. About $17 billion will be set aside for applicants who can demonstrate pandemic-related revenue losses, while $8.5 billion will go to those in rural areas.

Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said the agency expects to receive Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine trial data for children ages 5 to 11 by the end of this month and plans to review the findings "in a matter of weeks." Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he expects the vaccine to receive emergency use authorization for 5- to 11-year-old children by the end of October, and an FDA source agreed with the predicted timeline.

The call for nominations for the ANA National Awards is now open! Don't miss out on your opportunity to acknowledge the achievements of ANA members in the following categories: Distinguished Practice in Nursing, Nurse Exemplars, Nursing Champions, and Nursing Pioneers. The call for ANA Award nominations closes at 5 p.m. ET on October 1. A description of each award including criteria can be found on the Committee on Honorary Awards page. Please contact leader@ana.org with questions.

Are you ready to participate in the next IPC Fundamentals learning series? Join us through October for ANA's IPC Fundamentals ECHO. Earn CE and learn the latest tips on all aspects of infection prevention and control (IPC). Learn more and register today.