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GM and Ford end critical care ventilator production

September 17, 2020 However, GM is still making face masks.  The company said it will donate two (2) million face masks to Michigan public schools as part of the State of Michigan’s MI Mask Aid partnership.  GM’s contribution includes 750,000 child-size masks for elementary students.  Those will be ready for delivery by Sept. 14, GM … Read more

As ventilators become crucial, repair roadblocks remain

Now, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for product information to keep ventilators up and running is at an all-time high. Modern ventilators are typically serviced either every six (6) months or 2,000 hours of use and can last for 10 years if maintained properly.  However now, nearly every ventilator is being … Read more

Doctors find possible case of Covid-19 reinfection in US

September 10, 2020 The patient was first diagnosed with coronavirus in April 2020 after he had a sore throat, cough, headache, nausea and diarrhea, the researchers wrote in a pre-print study posted at the end of August.  He got better around April 27, and he tested negative for the virus twice afterwards. He continued to … Read more

Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) to require hospitals to report critical COVID-19 data on bed capacity, PPE and cases

September 03, 2020 The Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) released an emergency regulation on 25 AUG 2020 calling for the mandatory reporting.  The Agency also posted new requirements for lab reporting and revised a policy for physician and pharmacist orders for COVID-19 tests.  “While many hospitals are voluntarily reporting this information now, not … Read more

FDA issues COVID-19 vaccine guidance, setting 50% effectiveness threshold

September 01, 2020 For a vaccine that would be widely deployed against COVID-19, FDA says it expects sponsors to demonstrate that the vaccine is at least 50% effective in a placebo-controlled trial.  At a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee hearing on 30 JUN 2020, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, MD, testified that FDA would … Read more

COVID-19 Blood Test Might Predict Who Will Need a Ventilator

August 27, 2020 The study focused on 57 COVID-19 patients who needed a ventilator to breathe.  Researchers compared samples of their blood to that from patients who did not need a ventilator.  They found that blood levels of a certain cytokine are predictive of the course of COVID-19.  Cytokines are proteins that are central to … Read more

FDA looks to resume domestic (US) inspections soon

August 25, 2020 As a safety measure, FDA will pre-announce all inspections, except for retail tobacco inspections, for the foreseeable future.  The announcement comes nearly two (2) months after the Agency said it will implement a phased approach to restarting surveillance inspections and four (4) months after the agency halted its domestic inspection program. However, … Read more

Abbott’s real-world data show FreeStyle Libre lowered A1c in Type 2 diabetes, with or without insulin

August 20, 2020 The observational study of Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre system, presented at the annual scientific sessions of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), pointed to an 0.8 percentage-point drop — from 8.5% to 7.7% — in overall A1c levels after six months of use.  After one year, that drop came to 0.6 percentage points.  According … Read more