This week in Clipboard Health’s Nursing News round up … 

US Officials Warn of COVID-19 Rebound as Cases Increase

As some states begin to lift mask mandates, United States health officials warned that there could be a new surge of COVID-19 cases in the country unless the public continues to follow infection prevention guidelines. President Joe Biden encouraged states to reinstate mask mandates and delay lifting the mandates if they had plans to do so.

For the second week in a row, new COVID-19 cases and COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths increased last week. That was a nearly 10% increase overall compared to the week before. The US reached 30 million total COVID-19 cases on Sunday.

President Biden said that the US expects 90% of adults in the US to be eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine by April 19.

WHO Reports COVID-19 Most Likely Jumped from Bats to Humans

A summary of the joint study conducted by the World Health Organization and China to determine the origins of COVID-19 determined that the most likely origin of the virus was transmission from bats to humans. The full report will be available March 30. 

The summary also stated that the study found it “extremely unlikely” that the virus originated from a laboratory leak. 

Health experts and officials in the United States plan to review the report once it is released. 

US Study Finds COVID-19 Vaccines Highly Effective in Real-World Use

On Monday, the United States released results from its first study of the effectiveness of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines in real-world use. 

The study looked at 4,000 people from six states, particularly health care workers and other workers at the highest risk for getting COVID-19 due to their jobs. Results found that the vaccines were 90% effective at preventing COVID-19 after two doses and 80% effective after the first dose.

Medical Studies Round-Up

Here’s a brief round-up of recent medical studies and their findings for you to stay up-to-date with the ever-evolving field of medical research.

• The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study that showed there was a significant increase in the number of adults and young adults under the age of 30 who reported anxiety or depression around five months after the US initiated lockdowns. 
• A new study found that for each 25-gram portion of processed meat a person ate, it increased their risk of dementia by 44%. 
• Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, and Pfizer work on solutions as studies show that the current COVID-19 vaccines might be less effective against some of the new COVID-19 variants. 

COVID-19 in the News

To learn more about the top COVID-19 vaccines, vaccination timelines, potential requirements for health care professionals and facilities, and more, check out our COVID-19 Vaccine Information hub.

Here’s some more of the most recent news from the past week concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Eli Lilly and Vir Biotech released results from its mid-stage trials of its antibody treatment to treat low-risk COVID-19 patients. The results showed that the treatment, which uses two experimental antibodies together, was successful in reducing the viral load. 
• The US has administered over 145.8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. 
• Moderna reported that it has shipped 100 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine for the United States with 88 million doses successfully delivered. The company says it is on track to meet its promised shipments for May and July.