Bidding War for Nurses; Cutting Quarantine Time; 'Out of Control Fire'

— A daily roundup of news on COVID-19 and the rest of medicine

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COVID-19 UPDATE and Other News over a background of illustrated coronaviruses

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The nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases has turned hospital staffing into a bidding war for traveling nurses, with some jobs paying as much as $8,000 a week. (Kaiser Health News)

More than 88,000 people currently are hospitalized with COVID-19 in the U.S., setting a record for hospitalizations, the COVID Tracking Project reported. (CNN)

As of Wednesday at 8:00 a.m. EST, the unofficial COVID-19 toll in the U.S. was 12,598,660 cases and 259,976 deaths, up 176,665 cases and 2,269 deaths since the same time yesterday. (The record for daily COVID deaths, by the way, is 2,744 on April 21.)

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed an order allowing at-capacity hospitals to deny new admissions and transfer patients. (The Hill)

As the number of new COVID-19 patients climbed in Wisconsin, local Mayo Clinic hospitals put beds in an ambulance garage and lobbies. (WPR Radio)

The CDC is considering shortening the advised COVID-19 quarantine time from the current 14 days to somewhere in the 7-10 range. (NPR)

Eight Black physicians wrote an open letter to Black Americans encouraging them to take the COVID-19 vaccine once one becomes available. (NBC News)

Axios-Ipsos poll finds 61% of Americans have changed their Thanksgiving plans due to spikes in COVID-19 cases. (CNN)

Top Glove, the world's largest maker of latex gloves, will shut more than half of its factories after almost 2,500 employees tested positive for coronavirus. (BBC)

COVID-19 outbreaks hit record highs in nursing homes: "It's an out-of-control fire." (NBC News)

This is what dying with COVID-19 could look like, an ICU doctor warned. (CNN)

As a COVID-19 vaccine approaches, employers weigh making it mandatory for workers. (NPR)

AstraZeneca looks at the dosing error with its COVID-19 vaccine primer that paradoxically seems to have boosted the product's efficacy. (FierceBiotech)

Russia's COVID-19 vaccine may be safe, but not safe enough for President Vladimir Putin to take. (Bloomberg)

Initial results from expanded access use of aviptadil (RLF-100) in patients with critical COVID-19 and severe comorbidity were successful, NeuroRx and Relief said.

A group of researchers found no evidence of significantly more transmissibility from recurrent mutations in SARS-CoV-2. (Nature Communications)

It's early, but a pandemic baby bust may be emerging. (The Atlantic)

In other news:

  • Judy George covers neurology and neuroscience news for MedPage Today, writing about brain aging, Alzheimer’s, dementia, MS, rare diseases, epilepsy, autism, headache, stroke, Parkinson’s, ALS, concussion, CTE, sleep, pain, and more. Follow