The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic most likely arose from horseshoe bats in caves in South China, transferring into humans from an unknown intermediate animal source, according to a World Health Organization report that raised four distinct scenarios and rules out none of them.

Legislation passed in December 2020 changed some telehealth requirements for mental health services. The change has prompted concern over false claims.

Compounding the tragic loss of so many healthcare workers during the pandemic, a new report concludes that, in the absence of a national reporting system, the true count of those who have died of COVID-19 is unknown.

The national dialogue on immunizing people of color against COVID-19 has brought past atrocities to light, forcing a conversation on the deep distrust engendered by government “medical care,” such as the Tuskegee experiment.

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has been the biggest challenge in the history of modern infection prevention, but it also has raised the profile and importance of infection preventionists in a way that should secure future program resources.

Research suggests that many women have been unwilling to become pregnant and start or increase their families during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they sometimes have faced new contraceptive barriers.

While healthcare workers literally bear witness to death, who tolls the bell for them? There is no official count for healthcare workers who have died of COVID-19. Ask how many of these heroes have put their lives on the line and lost them in the process, and one enters a maze of incomplete reports collected from limited jurisdictions, mixed with extrapolations and models confounded with variables.

Coordinating post-acute services for patients has been an ongoing challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic. One solution is for hospitals to form partnerships with local skilled nursing facilities. These partnerships can help hospitals find adequate care for complex patients. Hospital case managers and other staff can help the skilled nursing facility with difficult problem-solving and care coordination.

Stress has long been a serious problem for physicians and nurses, but the added burden of COVID-19 is bringing attention to a particular challenge: All too often, clinicians are reluctant to seek the support of their employee assistance programs and other mental health resources available to them. A primary reason they avoid seeking help is that they fear they will face negative repercussions at work, even losing their jobs, according to recent research.

The continuum of care hit roadblocks in some U.S. cities as the COVID-19 pandemic made post-acute care transitions extremely challenging. In New York City, the epicenter of the pandemic in March and April 2020, case managers needed to transition patients from acute care beds quickly, but had to adjust to surge obstacles to their usual post-acute options, according to the results of a recent study.