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COVID case numbers are way down in the U.S. and many states are almost fully back to “normal” status.
It’s a huge sign of hope that the pandemic might soon be officially called over in the U.S. So what does that mean for travel nurses? Let’s take a closer look.
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
The most recent data available from the CDC shows a current COVID-19 case count of 33,093,238. The death count has remained stable, with 591,539 deaths.
To put these numbers into perspective, they boil down to this:
Both cases and deaths are the lowest they have been in over a full year
The rate of positive tests is less than 3% — almost the lowest it’s been in a year!
The New York Times COVID case map shows a massive decrease of infections across the entire country. In fact, they describe it as cases “plummeting,” with only 23K infections being reported per day across the entire nation, the lowest it’s been in a full year. There are only a very limited handful of “hot spots.” Cases have dropped by a full 50% over the past two weeks. The NYT adds: “No state is seeing a major increase in cases.”
Worldwide, other nations are not faring as well. For instance, in Brazil, the virus seems to be especially affecting pregnant women and babies, costing the lives of over 1,000 pregnant women and 579 babies under the age of one. Many of them were completely healthy before contracting the virus.
Health officials will continue to monitor these variants, especially as fall approaches. But for right now, the U.S. appears to be breathing a sigh of relief.
The CDC reports a 91.4% decrease since the highest peak in cases in January 2021. Hospitalizations are also down. There’s been a 10% decrease over the previous week tracked and the current weekly average is the lowest it’s been since August of 2020.
The CDC noted that, despite lowered case counts and increasing numbers of vaccinations, there are a number of implications for post-pandemic life. Namely, that people will be getting back to regular medical care.
Hunkering down at home meant that people put off routine and regular preventive care, including seeing their doctor for wellness checks. Healthcare providers are anticipating a return of patients for things like physicals. Sadly, with a delay in care, there may be new diagnoses and complications. And, without masks and social distancing, nurses should be prepared for the return of colds. Plus, after a year of virtually no influenza, it’s expected to make a big reentrance this coming flu season.
With COVID numbers down, there are fewer COVID-19 travel nurse assignments available. But with “normal” medical activity picking up again, there will be new opportunities for travel nurses as well. In recent weeks, there has been an expanded range of new travel RN jobs open — some with higher pay than we’ve seen in a while, especially for non-COVID assignments.
Here are some of the available travel nursing jobs and rates available right now:
Speak with a recruiter about available assignments in COVID-impacted areas today.
According to the CDC, 50.8% of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 40.9% are fully vaccinated.
Vaccination rates have slowed down considerably, leading some companies and areas to incentivize vaccinations. For instance, Ohio just gave away $1 million to a lottery winner who received a vaccine dose. The 22-year-old told the NYT she thought the call that she won was a “prank.”
In other news:
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
Big news: the CDC issued recommendations stating fully vaccinated people no longer have to wear a mask in most situations — indoors or outdoors. It’s a sign we’re finally (finally!) seeing some progress against this virus and moving towards “normalcy” once again.
Here’s what the science is telling us about COVID-19, including how it’s affecting travel nurses right now.
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
The most recent data from the CDC shows a current COVID-19 case count of 32,771,733, only slightly higher than our last case count two weeks ago of 32,228,003.
To put these numbers into perspective, they boil down to this:
The New York Times COVID case map shows a stabilization and decrease of infections across the entire country. There are only a handful of “hot spot” areas in isolated counties, such as in New Mexico, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Colorado. The NYT also noted places that previously had very high numbers have seen enormous progress. For example, New Jersey has seen a whopping 70% decrease in new cases over the past two weeks, while Michigan and New York have witnessed a 40% decrease.
While the new numbers are encouraging, especially on the brink of summer, the combination of variants and vaccine hesitation is leading many experts to predict we’ll never truly reach herd immunity for COVID-19.
“It’s theoretically possible but we as a society have rejected that,” Dr. Gregory Poland, director of the Mayo Clinic’s Vaccine Research Group told USA Today when discussing herd immunity for the virus. “There is no eradication at this point, it’s off the table. The only thing we can talk about is control.”
What exactly does that mean? It means that moving forward, COVID-19 will be more like a flu: a virus we will never fully eradicate, but that can hopefully be managed and controlled through a combination of infection control measures, such as vaccinations, masking during outbreaks, social distancing, and potentially new guidelines for going into work sick.
According to the CDC, new COVID-19 infections have dropped by 23.6% compared to last week, which is good news indeed. The current case count is almost 85.8% lower than it was during the January 2021 peaks. The CDC also notes that the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7. (the “UK variant”) is the culprit behind the majority of all U.S cases.
Yesterday, there were reports the India variant has been found in the U.S., although so far, experts are saying it’s not cause for alarm. The variant has been dubbed a “double mutant,” which describes the fact that this virus strains has gone through two specific mutations that make it harder for the immune system to detect. Basically, the mutation has found a way to slip through the immune system in two different ways, which is why it’s been so deadly in India.
Hospitalizations have also decreased 12.4% from the previous week. Overall, hospitalizations have decreased consistently since April 19.
Currently, the demand for COVID travel is less intense than last year but there are some states with new demand. Here are some of the current salaries available on job boards:
There are also many types of non-COVID travel nursing positions open, including opportunities for vaccine nurses and infusion nurses.
Speak with a recruiter about available assignments in COVID-impacted areas today.
The biggest news is that the FDA issued Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children between the ages of 12 and 15.
The CDC has called the Pfizer vaccine “safe and effective” for that age group, citing safety data and assuring parents that the side effects are about the same for adults, with symptoms like slight fever, chills, or headache after administration. Although 12-15-year-olds are now eligible and have started receiving the vaccine, no official data is in yet about how many have received it.
However, in general, according to the CDC’s count, 157,827,208 people have received at least one dose of a vaccine. Thirty-seven percent of the country has been fully vaccinated, while 47.5% of the population has received at least one dose.
In other news:
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
There have been some big developments in the COVID world in the past few weeks. While the battle against the virus continues to rage on in India, case numbers in the U.S. are looking promising. Former hot spot areas such as New York and New Jersey are lifting restrictions and multiple other states are following suit, doing away with capacity limits and masking.
Here are the latest updates that travel nurses need to know about COVID-19, from vaccines to how the virus is affecting current hospitalization rates.
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
The most recent data available from the CDC shows a current COVID-19 case count of 32,228,003 which you can compare to our last case count check two weeks ago of 31,883,289. The death count too, has remained stable, with 574,220 deaths, in comparison to our April 28th update of 569,272 deaths.
The New York Times COVID case map shows stabilizing infection rates across the country. In fact, the NYT notes that the country’s COVID numbers are beginning to drop for the first time in recent weeks, after a period of plateauing. Even hotspots like Michigan — which was #1 in the country for new infections only weeks ago — are seeing a drop in numbers.
While the new numbers are encouraging, especially on the brink of summer, the combination of variants and vaccine hesitations are leading many experts to predict that herd immunity for COVID-19 will never truly be reached. “It’s theoretically possible but we as a society have rejected that,” Dr. Gregory Poland, director of the Mayo Clinic’s Vaccine Research Group told USA Today when discussing herd immunity for the virus. “There is no eradication at this point, it’s off the table. The only thing we can talk about is control.”
This mean that moving forward, COVID-19 will be more like a flu: a virus we will never fully eradicate, but that can hopeful be managed and controlled through a combination of infection control measures, such as vaccinations, masking during outbreaks, social distancing, and potentially new guidelines for going into work sick.
According to the CDC, new COVID-19 infections have dropped by 16.2% this week as compared to last week, which is good news indeed. As a comparison of where numbers are currently at, current case counts are almost 79% lower than they were during January 2021 peaks. The CDC also notes that the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7. (the “UK variant”) is the culprit behind 59.2% of COVID-19 cases in the United States, with four other main variants of concern trailing behind it.
Hospitalizations have also decreased, 9.8% from the previous week tracked. (April 14-20). This is huge news, because this is the first week hospitalizations have decreased–every other week in April marked an increase in hospital admissions.
Obviously, less new infections and fewer hospitalizations are great news, but we do have more information about the impact of COVID as well. Many people argued in the beginning of the pandemic (and some still are) that the death rate of the disease caused by the virus is so low, that it’s truly not a big deal. And it’s true that the death rate is low–only about 1-2% of people infected with COVID-19 die. However, death is not the only negative effect of the disease. According to CDC data, about 20% of unvaccinated people who become infected with COVID-19 will end up with severe disease and 5% will end up in intensive care.
Currently, the demands for COVID travel nursing assignments are nowhere near where they were this time last year, but there are some states that are seeing new demand. Here are some of the available travel nursing rates available on job boards right now:
There are also many types of non-COVID travel nursing positions open, including opportunities for vaccine nurses and infusion nurses.
Speak with a recruiter about available assignments in COVID-impacted areas today.
According to the CDC’s count, 247 million doses of the vaccine have currently been administered. 31.8% of the country has been fully vaccinated, while 44% of the population has received at least one dose, numbers that haven’t significantly increased since our last update.
As of April 19, every adult in every state was eligible to receive the vaccine, although overall, interest in the vaccine seems to have waned. It’s also been reported that millions of adults are skipping the second dose of the vaccine. Some have cited scheduling difficulties after initial vaccine delays with weather or manufacturing changed their appointment times, while others have expressed new hesitancy for the vaccine in light of news about the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
And speaking of the J&J vaccine, after review for reported links to a serious blood clotting disorder called TTS, the FDA did recommend reinstating the emergency authorization of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
“The FDA has determined that the available data show that the vaccine’s known and potential benefits outweigh its known and potential risks in individuals 18 years of age and older,” they said in a press release. “At this time, the available data suggest that the chance of TTS occurring is very low, but the FDA and CDC will remain vigilant in continuing to investigate this risk.”
In other news:
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
As the world’s eyes turn towards the devastating wave of cases in India, exacerbated by a lack of vital resources and the so-called double mutant variant, the situation in the U.S. seems to have calmed for now.
Here are the latest updates that travel nurses need to know about COVID-19, from vaccines to how the virus is affecting current hospitalization rates.
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
The most recent data available from the CDC shows a current COVID-19 case count of 31,883,289, which you can compare to our last case count check two weeks ago of 31,015,033. The death count too, has remained stable, with 569,272 deaths from our April 14 update of 559,172 deaths.
The New York Times COVID case map shows a stabilization of infections across the country as well as areas of the Midwest and Northeast, including Michigan, New Jersey, and New York, which had experienced a resurgence of COVID-19 cases. As recently as a week ago, Michigan was leading the nation in case counts, but does seem to be showing some signs of improvement. For example, although hospitalizations are still high in the state, they do seem to have plateaued for the time being, and new infections have dropped since last week.
Experts guess that variants are behind the surges, which demonstrate how even small areas with COVID surges can cause “outbreak pockets” leading to new variants. For instance, even if a state has a high vaccination rate overall, there are county-to-county differences where people may eschew vaccinations, allowing the virus to continue to spread and increasing the risk of mutation. Eventually, those variants could become vaccine-resistant. The COVID case map shows where these county pockets can exist — counties in states where infections are not notably higher than national averages still have counties with high rates. For instance, Pecos, TX has seen a 591% increase in cases and Ferry, Washington has had a 4,400% increase.
The situation in India is a bit of a warning to the U.S. too, as experts have pointed out their situation is foreshadowing what could happen in any country. India initially did well through coronavirus. Assuming herd immunity had been reached, the country celebrated success over the virus. But a devastating mutation wreaked havoc during a second wave, showing how all it takes is one mutation to reinfect even those with COVID-19 antibodies. Some say the U.S. should look to India to remember that even as vaccinations rise here, it’s important not to let our guard down because we don’t know what the virus will do next.
According to the CDC, new COVID-19 infections have decreased by 10% since last week, which is good news indeed. As a comparison of where numbers are currently at, current case counts are almost 75% lower than they were during January 2021 peaks.
Despite new cases decreasing, hospitalizations are still high. They are much lower than they were in Jan., but the CDC reports a slight 1.6% increase in hospitalizations from the previous week. (CDC reporting is about a week behind, so those numbers reflect April 7-13.) In encouraging news, deaths have decreased about 3.7%.
Currently, the demands for COVID travel nursing assignments are nowhere near where they were this time last year, but there are some states that are seeing new demand. Here are some of the available travel nursing jobs right now:
There are also many types of non-COVID travel nursing positions open, including opportunities for vaccine nurses and infusion nurses.
Speak with a recruiter about available assignments in COVID-impacted areas today.
The big news of the day is the U.S. now leads the world in administered vaccinations. According to the CDC’s count, 213 million doses of the vaccine have currently been administered. 28.9% of the country has been fully vaccinated, while 37% of the population has received at least one dose, numbers that haven’t significantly increased since our last update.
As of April 19, every adult in every state was eligible to receive the vaccine, although overall, interest in the vaccine seems to have waned. It’s also been reported that millions of adults are skipping the second dose of the vaccine. Some have cited scheduling difficulties after initial vaccine delays with weather or manufacturing changed their appointment times, while others have expressed new hesitancy for the vaccine in light of news about the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
Speaking of the J&J vaccine, after review for reported links to a serious blood clotting disorder called TTS, the FDA did recommend reinstating the emergency authorization of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
“The FDA has determined that the available data show that the vaccine’s known and potential benefits outweigh its known and potential risks in individuals 18 years of age and older,” they said in a press release. “At this time, the available data suggest that the chance of TTS occurring is very low, but the FDA and CDC will remain vigilant in continuing to investigate this risk.”
In other news:
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
Currently, Michigan is leading the country in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations and it’s clear the pandemic is far from over. Other parts of the country are showing signs of stabilization — even improvement. In other words, the state of the pandemic is subject to your location.
Here are the latest COVID-19 updates for travel nurses.
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
The most recent data available from the CDC shows a current COVID-19 case count of 31,015,033 and 559,172 deaths. The New York Times COVID case map shows a stabilization of infections in the Northeast with clusters of outbreaks in the Midwest and some fluctuations in the West. While overall, cases and hospitalizations are on the rise across the country, some states — like Michigan — are certainly rising at much faster. National Geographic reports that 24 states, including Colorado, Georgia, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Florida, are now seeing an increase in COVID-19.
Essentially, the CDC is chalking up the rise in cases to the relaxing of state restrictions, along with the sharp increase of variants that are now dominant. The reason that variants make such a difference is that because they have mutated in a way that allows the coronavirus to have more places to adhere to the host cell–some explanations have described this as making it more “sticky” to help illustrate.
Because the virus is “stickier,” it takes less of the virus to infect someone, making it more contagious. With other strains, you may have needed a higher exposure to actually get infected. With the new variants, it could only take a few virus particles to infect you. There are even some suspected reports of a “double mutant” virus that could be especially contagious right now.
According to the CDC, as of April 9, the US is seeing the fourth straight week of COVID cases rising in the U.S. In a White House briefing on April 12, officials shared the latest data on the novel coronavirus in the U.S., with both good and bad news. The bad news is that while the 7-day average for new cases has increased about 3% over the past 7-week period–now averaging around 66K new cases per day — deaths have not increased. Deaths have actually decreased by 5.2% to around 684 deaths per day. However, we do know from past data and trends that death rates tend to significantly lag behind new cases and infections by several weeks, so it could be weeks before we see hospitalizations and deaths from cases that are just now occurring. And the other piece of data certainly seems to support that, as hospitalizations have increased by 6.6% over the past 7 days as well. All in all, those hospitalizations could end up as deaths, which would drive the death rate back up.
In hard hit areas, like Michigan, which has the highest number of hospitalized patients with COVID in the entire nation, pandemic fatigue is high. Among healthcare workers, burnout from yet another surge is taking its toll. ERs and hospital beds are filling up. One patient described trying to get treatment for mere stitches as akin to a “war zone.”
Meanwhile, increasing numbers of young people are being infected, which takes a toll on nurses. “These people are sick,” one nurse told a local Michigan news station. “They’re young. They require a lot of care…it’s hard. People are just emotionally exhausted.”
Currently, the demands for COVID travel nursing assignments are nowhere near where they were this time last year, but there are still some assignments hovering around the high $5k/week pay rate. Here are some of the rates currently available on job boards:
There are also many vaccine clinic travel nursing positions open, which is a unique opportunity to have somewhat shorter days and a more stable and predictable environment. The pay is not as high, but it could be a good fit for some nurses. As an example of one such job, there are openings in western Michigan for around $1.9K/week for vaccine clinic RNs.
Speak with a recruiter about available assignments in COVID-impacted areas today.
The biggest is the U.S. has halted use of the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine pending further safety evaluation after six women developed a rare blood clotting disorder within a two-weeks of receiving it. While some rare side effects are to be expected with a vaccine but this particular blood clotting disorder is cause for concern. The disorder is known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, and it’s extremely rare, prompting concern that the immune response triggered by the vaccine somehow caused the body to attack its own platelets. All six women were between the ages of 18 and 48. Sadly, one woman died and one is still hospitalized with complications.
Seven million people have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, so admittedly, six people out of that number is a very, very small amount. However, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is an adenovirus vaccine–the same type of vaccine as the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has also been linked to blood clotting disorders–so officials are taking an abundance of caution to ensure its safety before any continued use.
“We are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution,” Dr. Peter Marks, director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, and Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the C.D.C., said in a joint statement released by The New York Times. “Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare.”
According to the CDC’s count, 190 million doses of the vaccine have currently been administered. 22.3% of the country has been fully vaccinated, while 36.4% of the population has received at least one dose. Even one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines may confer as much as 80% protection.
As of April 19, every adult in every state will be eligible to receive the vaccine and the White House will be rolling out mass federal vaccination states next week as well.
In other news:
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
If you’re looking to take a travel nursing assignment soon, it’s important that you familiarize yourself with what policies are in place should you become sick with COVID-19, become directly exposed to someone with COVID-19 or need to quarantine.
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
Many agencies will still pay you if you need to quarantine or take time off to recover from COVID. That said, policies vary, depending on the area and the facility’s guidelines. Make sure you understand exactly what you need to do and how a possible exposure, infection or quarantine could affect you.
Here’s what travel nurses need to know about COVID and quarantining.
Before you sign a contract for a travel nursing assignment, be sure to ask all the right questions about COVID and quarantine. By now, most travel nursing agencies are well-versed in COVID-19 policies, be sure to ask about:
Be sure you understand:
Speak with a recruiter about available assignments in COVID-impacted areas today.
Although you will ultimately follow your agency and facility’s protocol and policies, it can also be helpful to fully understand what the CDC recommends for quarantining with COVID. The CDC recommends you quarantine for 14 days if you’ve been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.
“Close contact” is defined as:
In some situations, that could very well include an infected patient, especially if you were not outfitted with the proper PPE or in an emergent situation that was out of your control.
In some situations, quarantine length may be reduced to only 10 days but guidelines for that will come from the local healthcare department. This is another reason it’s important to find out details about the assignment before accepting any travel nursing assignment as a traveler.
The CDC also has healthcare worker-specific guidelines about when you can return to work after you’ve had COVID. The guidelines vary based on the severity of your illness and whether you have any immuno-compromised conditions that may impact your recovery. In general, the CDC says that healthcare workers who had mild to moderate COVID infections and are not severely immunocompromised can return to work if they meet the following criteria:
The loss of taste and smell can linger for weeks and months, which is why the CDC doesn’t count it as a symptom that should prevent you from returning to work.
Many travel nursing agencies have also put together COVID resources for travel nurses including everything from extra mental health benefits to support should you fall sick while you’re alone in temporary housing.
Ask your agency what resources are available to you as a traveler, especially if you are working in a COVID unit or current COVID hot spot. Potential resources include:
If you’re a nurse who has chosen vaccination and has completed both doses of either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines (Johnson & Johnson is only one shot), then the rules change a bit for what you need to know about quarantining. You are considered to be fully vaccinated two weeks after you receive your final vaccine dose. The two-week mark is because it takes several weeks for your body to form antibodies in response to the vaccine, so, to be fully protected, it’s best to wait at least two weeks.
According to the CDC’s most recently-released guidelines for fully vaccinated individuals, if you’ve been directly exposed to COVID-19 but it’s been more than two weeks since your last vaccine dose, you may be protected. Here’s what the guidelines say for fully vaccinated people:
But even if you’re vaccinated, you’ll need to follow any protocols your own workplace puts into place, so always check with your agency and contract hospital for exact rules and precautions.
Of course, if you have been fully vaccinated, be sure to make several copies of that vaccine card and let your nurse recruiter know, as it may be valuable information for your future assignments.
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
Well, it’s official: COVID-19 is officially on the rise again in nearly every single state in the U.S. The increase started slowly, with cases inching upwards in states like Michigan. Experts cautiously watched the numbers, wondering if they may plateau or turn the other way as vaccinations continue to grow.
However, the verdict is in and unfortunately, it now looks like the U.S. has entered into what is being called a fourth wave. Read on for more on who’s being affected, if experts except the tide will turn and what travel nurses need to know.
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
There are two main things to understand with COVID-19 right now: 1) every single state in the country has eased restrictions in major ways, from allowing more indoor dining to opening up more indoor venues to some states completely doing away with mask mandates all together and 2) the number of new COVID-19 infections has definitely increased, about 20% from last week alone, notes NPR.
Experts suspect that common sense would see those two facts as connected, but the question has remained of how connected they would be–and what the end result will be. Are there enough people vaccinated that even opening up more can contain the cases? Will the spread of new infections be primarily in younger, healthier individuals now that so many at-risk individuals have been vaccinated? Will warmer weather in general and public health behavior make any difference at all?
It’s too early to officially call it, but experts are definitely fearful of a fourth wave. In fact, in a press conference on March 29, CDC director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, urged Americans to practice infection-curbing measures like masking and social distancing. “I know you all so badly want to be done,” she said in her press conference, where she admitted to going off-script. “We are just almost there, but not quite yet.” Cases in some states, like Michigan, where a notable rise in infections received a lot of press attention, are rising the fastest among people in their 50s. Cases, in general, are being seen in people from the age of 10 to 60, but the over 65 sect number seem stable, largely attributed to the level of vaccination in that age group.
The most recent data available from the CDC shows a current COVID-19 case count of 30,147,895 and 547,296 deaths.
According to the CDC, there has been an almost 7% increase in COVID cases across the U.S. in the past week of data. However, hospital admissions have only increased by 0.1% in the same time frame. At the moment, deaths have also not increased and have stayed in their downward trend.
So far, the rise in COVID cases appears to be primarily in the under-age 60 sect and according to some doctors, associated with much more mild versions of the disease than they have seen in the past. There’s also more testing available than this time last year, which can add to the increase in numbers we are seeing–more people are aware of the test, willing to get tested and are able to access a test when they need it as compared to last year, when testing was scarce and people were more apt to stay home.
In Michigan, one of the first states to record a doubled COVID case count in only two weeks, hospitalizations are rising the fastest in people in their 50s. Cases, in general, are being seen in people from the age of 10 to 60, but the over 65 sect number seem stable, largely attributed to the level of vaccination in that age group.
However, experts are still cautioning that the severe cases of the virus can still strike younger people–and they can serve to spread it to people at risk, so there’s no reason to let guards down just yet. Additionally, numbers of infections and severe health complications from the record-setting large number of spring break travelers will still take several weeks to materialize.
Currently, the demands for COVID travel nursing assignments are nowhere near where they were this time last year, but there are still some assignments hovering around the high $5k/week pay rate.
Here are some of the available travel nursing jobs right now:
Speak with a recruiter about available assignments in COVID-impacted areas today.
The unfortunate news is that the U.K variant of the virus, the B.1.1.7, does appear to be rising and is said to be about 50% more transmissible and more dangerous the original strain. The good news, however, is that the current vaccines are thought to provide protection, even against the variant.
“The vaccines that we’ve been using here, at least according to lab results, do appear to be giving good protection against all the variants of concern that we’ve got at the moment,” Bill Hanage, an epidemiologist at Harvard University, told NPR. “Now, there may be some small reduction in efficacy but not enough to be really worried about.”
According to the CDC’s count, 148 million doses of the vaccine have currently been administered. 28.9% of the country has been fully vaccinated, while 16.1% of the population has received at least one dose. It’s thought that even one dose of the vaccine provides a high amount of protection — 80% protection with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
In other vaccine and COVID news:
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
The last two weeks of COVID tracking have been confusing with declining numbers of new cases and increased vaccine availability. But, experts are cautioning that we aren’t in the clear just yet.
Here’s what travel nurses need to know about the latest updates in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
Following a 7-week decline, we have now reached a plateau in new COVID cases in the U.S. And while many of us were encouraged by the decline in the first place, it’s important that we don’t lose sight of the fact that even with the decline, the cases are still higher than they were in the first peak of the pandemic. In other words, that decline was in large part due to a drastic uptick in cases from over the holidays.
On March 2, CDC Director Director Rochelle Walensky also cautioned in a White House press briefing that the numbers from the previous 7 days show a slight increase in new cases–new cases and deaths rose about 2% higher than they were the week prior. Her words come on the heels of many states lifting COVID-19 restrictions, from Michigan, which doubled the allowed capacity of restaurants and resumed nursing home visitations, to Texas, which lifted its mask mandate and opened the state entirely.
Walensky expressed concern over states lifting restrictions, noting that the current 2,000 per day death rate should not be considered a new norm, and pointing out that the new variants now known to be circulating could threaten to undo all of the progress that’s been done so far.
“Please hear me clearly. At this level of cases with variants spreading, we stand to completely lose the hard-earned ground we have gained…Now is not the time to relax the critical safeguards that we know could stop the spread of COVID-19 in our communities, not when we are so close,” she stated.
Ready to start travel nursing? Start here.
Hospitals have also been seeing a decline in cases, hospitalizations and deaths, which is encouraging. While the U.S. passed the 500,000 mark of deaths from COVID-19 and is now up to a total of 513,000 deaths, the CDC does note a 23.8% decrease in deaths from the previous week.
The emergent need for travel nurses due to COVID-19 has definitely slowed and some nurses have even seen their crisis contracts suddenly cancelled at the last-minute. However, travel nursing is an industry that will never go away and there are still travel nursing assignments with average weekly pay available in areas such as:
Speak with a recruiter about available assignments in COVID-impacted areas today.
To date, 78.6 million doses of the vaccine have been administered. Vaccination efforts have been helped with things like mass vaccination sites and the initial rollout of pharmacy vaccinations at some major retailers including CVS and Walgreens locations, as well as a catch-up to local health departments after severe winter storms derailed some shipments.
And as you have probably heard, Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine has been granted emergency use authorization by the FDA. (A quick note: EUA is not the same as FDA approval and because COVID-19 vaccines are not yet FDA-approved, they also can’t be mandated by an employer.) It’s not yet known when the vaccine will be readily available for distribution and in fact, the White House has warned that it will most likely be very limited supply at first.
In other vaccine news:
There has also been more attention turned to the stress that travel nurses especially have experienced in this pandemic. The travel nursing industry largely heralded as an upbeat way to gain experience, meet new people, earn money and travel all at the same time has been completely upended in a lot of ways by the pandemic. Instead of a positive experience focused on growth and fun, travel nursing was thrust into the bellies of the COVID-19 beast, a band-aid solution to hospitals unable to care for patients fast enough.
Coupled with the sudden emergent needs of caring for patients with COVID-19, the pandemic also brought severe isolation and stress to travel nurses, who were often sequestered alone in hotel housing near the hospital and forced to quarantine away from others.
“I did have moments where I didn’t want to talk to anybody because I felt like no one could really understand what I was going through, and that made me feel more alone,” one travel nurse said in a CNN feature.
If you are a travel nurse, it might feel like you are only just now coming up for air after back-to-back assignments or a crisis contract suddenly getting canceled. And if you are realizing that you are burned out or struggling with any mental health issues, be sure to take a break and reach out for the help you need. The beauty about travel nursing is that you can absolutely take a break when you need it — not only will it help you rest and ensure you can come back to work recharged and ready to help your patients again, but you can also rest assured that there will plenty of jobs to come back to.
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
The U.S. has now officially passed one year of the pandemic. The first identified infection here was January 20, 2020. For the first time, the numbers for COVID-19 in the U.S. have continued to decrease steadily over the past few weeks, prompting some cautious hopefulness in a country that has grown weary of pandemic life.
According to the CDC, as of February 12, there were less than 100,000 new cases of the novel coronavirus in the U.S., the lowest number since November of last year. In January, new infections reached above 250,000, so the drop is a significant one, although experts are warning about factors including a delay in holiday reporting and the rise of new COVID variants.
Here’s what’s new with COVID-19, the vaccine and how travel nurses can expect to be affected.
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
First, while the number of new COVID-19 cases of COVID-19 is dropping, it’s important to remember it’s because numbers were high to begin with. So while a drop to less than 100,000 is great news, it’s still an infection rate about 2.5 times higher than this summer. And the death toll has now reached 482,536 in the U.S. alone. In other words, as the CDC puts it: things are “better, but not good enough.”
The CDC case map notes a new infection average of about 28 per 10,000 people per day, with some states — like North Dakota and Michigan — hovering around an average of 10 new cases per 100,000 people per day. NPR’s state tracker shows the states with the most COVID cases per 100,000 people are South Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Virginia. South Carolina is reporting the highest current case count by population, with an infection rate of 57 positive cases per 100,000 people, which is lower than our last update, which saw Texas as the highest positive rate per capita, at 71 cases per 100,000 people.
The CDC’s weekly surveillance summary reinforces the downward trend in case numbers. In fact, they report a 69% drop in daily cases. New hospital admissions of patients with confirmed COVID-19 infections have also decreased by half since last month. However, the current caseloads are still higher than the two other pandemic peaks that we’ve seen. In other words, we’re still above the numbers we saw when the whole country first shut down. Deaths have had a negligible decline, which may reflect past infections as well. And then, of course, there are the variants. So far, all of the different variants have been found in the U.S. and the UK strain is expected to become dominant by March and could become a “fourth wave” without serious intervention, so some experts have warned that as tired as we all are, it’s not time to relax just yet.
Ready to start travel nursing? Start here.
Right now, the entire country almost seems to be in a bit of a “wait-and-see” limbo with COVID-19. Will the vaccinations be enough to keep numbers down? Will the variants cause us to go into a fourth wave? What will happen to the virus as spring creeps up? And what will happen to the healthcare workers who are burned out from the past year?
The need for travel nurses hasn’t stopped but the high-paying crisis rates of the pandemic peaks are not readily available at the moment. Instead, the trend seems to be more needs for general MICI/SICU jobs in the $6K-7K weekly range.
Here are some of the highest-paying opportunities for travel nursing right now:
Speak with a recruiter about available assignments in COVID-impacted areas today.
The vaccine administration program is moving right along. As of Feb. 11, the CDC notes that 46.4 million doses of the vaccine have been administered, which is roughly about 10.6% of the population. And 3.4% of the population have received their full two-dose vaccination.
Mass vaccination sites and the initial rollout of pharmacy vaccinations at some major retailers including CVS and Walgreens locations have helped the vaccine roll out.
As more people receive their first and even second doses, it’s an opportunity for people to share their experiences and hopefully, for people who are hesitant about the vaccine for any reason, to get their concerns and questions addressed.
In other vaccine news:
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
For the first time in a long time, we have a glimmer of hopeful news to report on the COVID-19 front: cases from the novel coronavirus are on the decline. Cases and new infections have taken a pretty steep decrease and while deaths are not drastically dropping just yet, it’s still a refreshing change from the constant doom and gloom updates we’ve had to present in the past.
However, new variants of the COVID-19 virus continue to pop up and vaccination efforts still lag behind ideal numbers, so it’s hard to say with certainty if a clear end to this fight is yet in sight. Here are some of the vital updates on COVID-19 for travel nurses and what areas are hiring high-paying positions right now.
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
In the U.S., new cases seem to be dropping, which is hopeful news and a necessary one to slow a wave of new infection. As of February 2nd, the CDC reports just over 26 million cases and close to 442,000 deaths. If you look at the case map through the CDC, the visuals are almost shocking––some states that have been hard-hit in the past, like Michigan, Washington, and the Dakotas, all now sit at a peaceful green, representing a low case count of only 1-11 per 100K in the past week.
NPR’s state tracker shows the top 5 states with the most COVID cases by 100K people as Texas, South Carolina, Arizona, New York, and Oklahoma. Texas is reporting the highest current case count per population, with an infection rate of 71 positive cases per 100K people.
The CDC’s weekly surveillance summary also reinforces that the numbers tend to be trending downwards: they note that the overall number of positive results from COVID-19 tests has decreased across the entire country and in all age groups. Other good news? Visits to ERs and urgent care for respiratory symptoms and illness have also decreased. Deaths have somewhat plateaued, but still remain at above-epidemic levels and the CDC is still predicting those to increase, due to the lag in deaths from reported cases. In other words, people may just now be passing away, despite being infected months ago.
Ready to start travel nursing? Start here.
According to the most recent update from the CDC, although ER and urgent care visits have decreased, the overall hospitalization rate has remained steady. However, there is somewhat good news in that the hospitalization rate has plateaued at a steady pace— albeit above-earlier-pandemic peaks–and is not steadily increasing.
So, the need for travel nurses is still strong, although it may be shifting from some previously urgent areas. Needs may also be changing to include more step-down and critical care vs. emergent and intensive care. And in most places, you won’t be seeing those $10K weekly assignments that were available only a few weeks ago.
Instead, here are some of the highest-paying opportunities for travel nursing right now:
Speak with a recruiter about available assignments in COVID-impacted areas today.
The vaccine administration schedule has been frustrating for many people, with limited slots and availability and even stories of doses being wasted when people who are eligible for the vaccine can’t be found. (As a volunteer vaccine clinic nurse, I can attest to the fact that sadly, this does happen, although the hardworking people who are working overtime to organize vaccine programs do everything in their power to avoid wasting even one precious vaccine dose.)
The Biden administration has also been focused on ramping up both vaccine production and distribution. For instance, on Feb. 2, it was announced
that the White House will be sending vaccines directly to pharmacies across the nation in an effort to help increase vaccine administration. The program will begin on Feb 11 and will roll out on a limited basis at first, with about 6,500 doses being shipped.
As of Feb 1st, the CDC says that about 32 million people have received at least one dose of the vaccine and over 6 million million have been fully vaccinated, the majority of those going to nursing home residents. The numbers come in at approximately 1.4 million people being vaccinated every day, although, of course, that varies with vaccine availability and geographical area. The states who have the highest number of vaccines per population include Vermont, North and South Dakota, New Mexico, Alaska, West Virginia, and Oklahoma.
However, no matter which way you look at it, that’s a huge improvement from where we were even a few weeks ago. As more people receive their first and even second doses, too, it’s an opportunity for people to share their stories and experiences and hopefully, for people who are hesitant about the vaccine for any reason, to get their concerns and questions addressed.
In other vaccine news:
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
