A new study led by researchers at the University of Oxford, published today (28 April) in JAMA Pediatrics, offers fresh insight into trends in maternal mortality in the United States. For the first time, the study disentangles genuine changes in health outcomes from shifts caused by how deaths are recorded. Nevertheless, the study confirms the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal death rates for women of all racial and ethnic groups.

The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), in partnership with APIC, IDSA, and PIDS, has released a new position paper urging U.S. healthcare facilities to strengthen their Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) programs. Citing vulnerabilities exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the paper outlines key recommendations for enhancing IPC leadership, resources, and accountability to protect patients, improve healthcare quality, and reduce costs. The societies call for IPC programs to be recognized as essential to healthcare operations and advocate for revised standards and a dyad leadership model to drive sustainable improvements.

New research from Murdoch University’s Australian National Phenome Centre confirms that multiple doses of COVID-19 vaccines do not cause significant metabolic changes.

Australian and Dutch researchers have uncovered a remarkable evolutionary adaptation in birds that could hold vital clues for combating avian flu and respiratory infections in humans, including pneumonia and COVID-19.

This release has been removed upon request of the submitting institution because it is a duplicate of an existing release. Please find the link here to the release: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1081239 Please contact Levi Gadye, levi.gadye@ucsf.edu for more information.