Here are six COVID-19 updates from the past week that ASC leaders need to know:
1. On Sept. 9, President Joe Biden unveiled his administration's multipronged pandemic approach aimed at boosting the number of Americans who are vaccinated against COVID-19. It would include a requirement that all private employers with 100 or more employees ensure their staff are fully vaccinated or undergo weekly testing.
2. An average of 1.28 million COVID-19 vaccine doses per day were administered in the last week, a 60 percent increase from the week before. Here are the COVID-19 vaccination rates — up in 45 states, down in five.
3. COVID-19 hospitalizations in Colorado hit their highest levels of 2021, baffling some experts as virus cases and hospitalizations decline nationally. Hospitals and health systems in the state will now coordinate patient transfers on a statewide level as high patient volumes create mounting concerns about hospital capacity.
4. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, on Nov. 2 endorsed the agency advisory panel's recommendation that children ages 5-11 be vaccinated against COVID-19 with Pfizer's vaccine. Here are five things parents should know.
5. Vaccine-induced COVID-19 immunity and infection-induced immunity both last for at least six months, according to a recent report from the CDC.
6. Over 13 percent of COVID-19 hospitalizations lead to readmission and emergency department visits after 30 days, with more than a quarter being potentially preventable, according to a recent study.