President Joe Biden released the National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan in March 2022, enabling the United States to move forward with goals to protect against and treat COVID-19, prepare for new variants, prevent economic and educational shutdowns, and expand vaccinations.
Shortly after emergency workplace safety standards were removed and guidance on isolation time following a positive COVID-19 test result was updated, healthcare workers and administrations urged legislators to issue protections for the profession. To ensure their voices were heard, House of Representatives legislators Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA) and Alma Adams (D-NC) wrote a letter to President Joe Biden and Department of Labor Secretary Marty Walsh to advocate for a reversal.
On March 23, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved lutetium lu 177 vipivotide tetraxetan (Pluvicto™) for adult patients with prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-positive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) who have been treated with androgen receptor (AR)–pathway inhibition and taxane-based chemotherapy.
Paper folding, also known as origami, has roots in several cultures, including Japanese, Chinese, and European. Origami’s exact origin is unknown. Although we have no concrete evidence of origami existing before 1600, a reference to origami butterflies in a 1680s poem suggests that it was an established art form with much older origins.
The United States is investing $103 million to improve healthcare worker retention and respond to the ongoing nursing workforce shortage by reducing burnout and promoting mental health and wellness for healthcare professionals, particularly those in underserved and rural communities, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said in January 2022.
On March 21, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the United States is experiencing interruptions in the supply of prefilled 0.9% sodium chloride (saline) IV lock/flush syringes because of an increase in demand during the COVID-19 pandemic and vendor supply chain challenges, including the permanent discontinuance of certain prefilled saline lock/flush syringes.
Patients with melanoma who consume a high-fiber diet during treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) or anti-PD-1 therapy experience longer progression-free survival than those who don’t, researchers reported in Science. And probiotic supplementation, often considered a healthy behavior, reduces immunotherapy response.
More than 150 Office of Cancer Survivorship grants totaling nearly $112 million funded research on cancer survivorship in 2020, including “resources for implementation of the STAR Act and additional resources provided through legislation such as the 21st Century Cures Act, which authorized funding for the Cancer Moonshot,” according to the office’s 25th anniversary report.
On March 21, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda®) as a single agent for patients with microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) advanced endometrial carcinoma, as determined by an FDA-approved test, who have disease progression following prior systemic therapy in any setting and who are not candidates for curative surgery or radiation.
An optical imaging agent shown to improve diagnostic accuracy, pafolacianine (CytaluxTM) was approved on November 29, 2021, for use in adult patients with known or suspected ovarian cancer as adjunct therapy in conjunction with planned intraoperative identification of malignant lesions. Pafolacianine is used in combination with a near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging system that requires specialized training provided by the device manufacturer.