Nearly a third of all Americans (100 million people) have now been infected with COVID-19. And scientific evidence shows that natural immunity from infection is durable and long-lasting. So why is it then that inoculations continue to be pushed for all people regardless of whether they have contracted COVID-19 or not? And why isn’t natural immunity factored into medical decisions about how we prioritize vaccinations?

How could complete silence possibly be considered music (John Cage’s 4’33”), or a blank canvas a masterpiece of art (Robert Rauschenberg’s White Painting)? This oncology medical student explains how after truly listening to a dying patient’s wishes, the student’s silence provided the canvas for the patient’s thoughts, becoming an advocate for his needs: “Silence is not merely the absence of sound but rather an invitation for others to be heard.”

The inaugural report of the ASH Research Collaborative (RC) COVID-19 Registry for Hematology, published in Blood Advances, is based on an analysis of the first 250 patients with both hematologic malignancy and COVID-19 registered from 74 countries. The analysis showed that the mortality risk (28% overall and increased to 42% among hospitalized patients with COVID-19) was heterogenous and unpredictable, further challenging doctors when allocating resources and determining which patients receive intensive care.

Available from Guideline Central, the free, quick-reference print and digital pocket guide covers the most recent American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Hepatocellular Carcinoma Guidelines. Accessed by web and offline mobile devices, the pocket guide covers key points, treatment, first- and second-line therapies, a downloadable PDF, and links to other resources in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

This is the third edition of the guidelines – the last coming in 2014 – providing a resource and guidance specifically for primary care practitioners about how to plan care for childhood cancer survivors. “A care plan just really encourages coordination, especially if a child has a very complicated post-cancer treatment history with a lot of morbidity,” said Dr. Melissa Hudson, director of the division of cancer survivorship at St. Jude’s and corresponding author of the new guidelines.

The two new studies in the Morbidity and Mortality Report compared data from July and August 2021 – when delta was dominant to the earlier period in the pandemic – and found that about 1.4 of every 100,000 children/adolescents were hospitalized for COVID-19, nearly 5x the weekly rate in late June and close to the peak in January. Also, the weekly rate of 1.9 per 100,000 children ages 0-4 years in mid-August was nearly 10 times that of late June.