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Two new studies illustrate the mental toll COVID-19 took on healthcare workers (HCWs), with the first documenting high rates of burnout among HCWs and the second describing harassment on social media platforms suffered by physicians and scientists during the pandemic. (Soucheray, 6/14)

A new study based on data collected from Alberta, Canada, shows significant drops in the diagnoses of breast, colorectal, and prostate cancers as well as melanoma, likely due to the delay of routine screenings and cancellations of health care visits during the first part of the pandemic. (Soucheray, 6/12)

A study conducted at three Veterans Administration (VA) hospitals found that telehealth-supported stewardship activities were associated with reduced antibiotic use in long-term care (LTC) units, researchers reported today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. The telehealth-supported intervention, implemented at VA hospitals in Iowa, Georgia, and New York, involved thrice-weekly virtual meetings between an off-site infectious disease physician and the local stewardship pharmacists at each hospital to review patients on antibiotics in the acute-care and LTC units and provide real-time feedback on prescribing. (Dall, 6/14)

Of attendees at the in-person 2022 German Society of Ophthalmology meeting who completed a survey 3 weeks later, 8% reported testing positive for COVID-19, according to a research letter published yesterday in JAMA Network Open. A team led by Saarland University Medical Center researchers sent online surveys to attendees of the meeting, which took place during the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant wave. Held in Berlin, the conference was the first face-to-face meeting in 3 years due to the pandemic. Infection-prevention measures such as COVID-19 testing, confirmed vaccination, and mask wearing were not required. (Van Beusekom, 6/14)