Today’s NewsStand

Today’s NewsStand

By Iowa Hospital Association|
|October 22, 2021

Iowa News

Children sick with COVID and other bugs flooded hospitals in the fall. Doctors worry what winter will bring.

It feels like winter came five months early to the University of Iowa’s Stead Family Children’s Hospital, and the staff fears darker times could be coming soon. The 190-bed facility is about two-thirds full during a typical fall. This year, it has been jammed with young patients since July. Des Moines Register

Coleman formally accepts Broadlawns president and CEO role

Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines announced today that Anthony Coleman has formally accepted a contract as president and chief executive officer of the nonprofit Polk County hospital, effective Dec. 6. The hospital’s board of directors had voted on Sept. 23 to extend an offer to Coleman, who was one of two finalists for the position. Business Record

Hy-Vee chief health officer named to national specialty pharmacy board

Kristin Williams, executive vice president and chief health officer for Hy-Vee Inc., has been appointed to the board of directors of the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy, the organization announced. Williams, who is also president of Amber Specialty Pharmacy/Hy-Vee Pharmacy Solutions, received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Drake University and recently received Drake’s Young Alumni Award. Business Record

National News

CDC expands booster rollout, OKs mixing shots

Millions more Americans can get a COVID-19 booster and choose a different company’s vaccine for that next shot, federal health officials said Thursday. Certain people who received Pfizer vaccinations months ago already are eligible for a booster and now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says specific Moderna and Johnson & Johnson recipients qualify, too. And in a bigger change, the agency is allowing the flexibility of “mixing and matching” that extra dose regardless of which type people received first. AP News

COVID-19 numbers still high at St. Cloud Hospital but there is some good news

The number of COVID-19 positive patients within CentraCare hospitals in Central Minnesota continue to be high. The good news is the St. Cloud community test positive rate is dropping. WJON

Pfizer vaccine 91% effective in kids 5-11, study says

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is nearly 91 percent effective at preventing symptomatic infections in children between ages 5 and 11, according to a study released by the FDA Oct. 22.  The study involved 2,268 children given COVID-19 vaccines that are one-third the dosage of the vaccines given to people ages 12 and up. They were given two doses spaced three weeks apart, the same as the adult version of the vaccine. It found that the children developed antibody levels just as strong as older children and adults given the full dosage. Becker’s Hospital Review

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