Pregnant women must remain mindful of COVID-19 exposure  

The key to a safe, successful pregnancy became somewhat complicated in the era of COVID-19, particularly with the recent surge.

“There is no doubt that the path to maintaining a successful pregnancy is pretty straight forward,” said Delisa Skeete Henry, M.D., obstetricianand gynecologist at Broward Health. “Unfortunately, because of COVID-19, pregnant women must be more vigilant about their health and that of their unborn babies, particularly if they are unvaccinated.”

Dr. Skeete Henry recommends a variety of tactics to promote a healthy lifestyle. She advises pregnant women to:

  • stay on track with scheduled doctor’s appointments and routine exams.
  • maintain a healthy diet.
  • stay hydrated with plenty of water.
  • take pre-natal vitamins, Vitamin D and Zinc to boost immune system.
  • get enough sleep.
  • refrain from smoking and consuming alcohol.
  • monitor weight gain, with physician supervision, as significant weight gain can lead to complications. 
  • remain active and walk or exercise.
  • if unvaccinated, wear a mask, social distance, limit family gatherings and isolate whenever possible.
  • get all necessary vaccines, including for COVID-19, per physician directions.

Pregnancy is considered a high-risk COVID-19 factor. When COVID-19 effects the lungs, a person’s health deteriorates quickly, which is magnified in pregnant women. COVID-19 complications can continue for new moms even after childbirth. A new mother’s ability to breathe on her own can deteriorate dramatically after giving birth. If she has to be moved to the ICU and intubated with a ventilator, she will not be able to hold or see her newborn for weeks.

“If you are pregnant, you must take extra special care of yourself and your unborn baby and that starts with keeping your doctor appointments and following the doctor’s recommendations,” said Dr. Skeete Henry. “Staying healthy is the key to a happy, full-term pregnancy.”

Broward Health’s Maternity Place provides comprehensive, highly specialized maternal and pediatric care at Broward Health Medical Center and Broward Health Coral Springs. For more information, visit BrowardHealth.org/Maternity.

Broward Health, providing service for more than 80 years, is a nationally recognized system in South Florida that offers world-class healthcare to all. The Broward Health system includes the statutory teaching hospital Broward Health Medical Center, Broward Health North, Broward Health Imperial Point, Broward Health Coral Springs, Salah Foundation Children’s Hospital, Broward Health Weston, Broward Health Community Health Services, Broward Health Physician Group, Broward Health International, and Broward Health Foundation. For more information, visit BrowardHealth.org.



The newly launched Impact of Genomic Variation on Function (IGVF) consortium to include 30 U.S. sites.

September 9 2021 – The National Institutes of Health is providing approximately $185 million over five years to the Impact of Genomic Variation on Function (IGVF) consortium, initiated and funded by NIH’s National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). NHGRI will fund 25 awards across 30 U.S. research sites. IGVF consortium investigators will work to understand how genomic variation alters human genome function, and how such variation influences human health and disease.

IGVF consortium investigators will work to understand how genomic variation alters human genome function, and how such variation influences human health and disease.Harry Wedel, NHGRI

The genome sequences of two different people are more than 99.9% identical. But those 0.1% differences — alternate orders of the As, Cs, Gs and Ts that make up our DNA — combined with the environment and lifestyle ultimately shape a person’s overall physical features and disease risk. Researchers have identified millions of human genomic variants that differ across the world, including thousands of disease-associated ones. By integrating experimental methods with advanced computer models, the IGVF consortium will identify which variants in the genome are relevant for health and disease – information that will be of critical importance to clinicians.

“Biomedical researchers have recently made remarkable advances in the experimental and computational methods available for elucidating genome function,” said Carolyn Hutter, Ph.D., director of the NHGRI Division of Genome Sciences. “The IGVF consortium will include world leaders in these areas, and together they will leverage these advances to tackle an incredibly challenging and important series of questions related to how genomic variation influences biological function.”

The IGVF consortium will develop a catalog of the results and approaches used in their studies. All information generated by the consortium will be made freely available to the research community via a web portal to assist with future research projects. Because there are thousands of genomic variants associated with disease, and it is not possible to manipulate each variant individually and in each biological setting, consortium researchers will also develop computational modeling approaches to predict the impact of variants on genome function.

The IGVF consortium includes five components: Functional Characterization Centers, Regulatory Network Projects, Mapping Centers, a Data and Administrative Coordinating Center and Predictive Modeling Projects. To view a full list of awardee sites, please visit the IGVF webpage on genome.gov.  

NHGRI is one of the 27 institutes and centers at the National Institutes of Health. The NHGRI Extramural Research Program supports grants for research, and training and career development at sites nationwide. Additional information about NHGRI can be found at https://www.genome.gov.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.



The Florida Hospital Association, the state’s leading voice for hospitals and health systems, provided the following update today on COVID-19 in the state. Statewide data is derived from the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

HHS Statewide COVID-19 Update:

Current Confirmed COVID-19 Hospitalizations: 13,100

7-Day Change in COVID-19 Hospitalizations: -12.3%

14-Day Change in COVID-19 Hospitalizations: -20.6%

Total New COVID-19 Cases: 13,774

Inpatient Bed Availability (all patients): 17.3%

Inpatient ICU Bed Availability (adults): 8.8%

Percent of Inpatients with Confirmed COVID-19 (all patients): 29.4%

Source: COVID-19 Reported Patient Impact and Hospital Capacity by State

FHA Hospital Update:

The following information is being released by the Florida Hospital Association from a survey of hospitals completed Wednesday, September 7, 2021. This survey reflects responses from hospitals operating 84% of Florida’s acute care hospital beds.

  • COVID-19 patients in ICU: 24.9% (increase 1.6% from 9/2)
  • COVID-19 patients on ventilators: 18.9% (steady from 9/2)
  • COVID-19 patients transferred from nursing homes/long-term care: 2.7% (steady from 9/2)
  • Hospitals expecting critical staffing shortage in next 7 days: 74.7% (steady from 9/2)
  • Hospitals expanding into non-care areas in next 7 days: 24.4% (steady from 9/2)

“COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to decline at a rapid pace, dropping more than 20% in the last two weeks,” said Mary C. Mayhew, President and CEO, Florida Hospital Association. “Thanks to increased vaccination with nearly 83% of seniors (65+) and 62% of our population (12+) fully vaccinated, and Governor Ron DeSantis expanding the availability of monoclonal antibody treatments for those Floridians who test positive, we anticipate COVID-19 hospitalizations could drop below last year’s peak in the coming weeks.”  

About the Florida Hospital Association Founded in 1927, the Florida Hospital Association is the leading voice for health care in the State of Florida. Through representation and advocacy, education and informational services, the Florida Hospital Association supports the mission of more than 200 hospitals and health care systems to provide the highest quality of care to the patients we serve. Led by President and CEO Mary Mayhew, the Florida Hospital Association has offices in Tallahassee and Orlando and is governed by a Board of Trustees and officers elected by the member institutions. For more information, visit www.fha.org. 



OCALA, Fla., Sept. 08, 2021 – AIM ImmunoTech Inc. (NYSE American: AIM) today announced that is has submitted a Pre-Investigational New Drug application (Pre-IND) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a Phase 2 clinical study of Ampligen as a potential infusion therapy for Post-COVID-19 Cognitive Dysfunction (PCCD).

This will be a Phase 2, two-arm, randomized, double blind, placebo controlled, multicenter study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Ampligen in patients experiencing PCCD. Eighty subjects will be randomized 1:1 to receive twice weekly infusions of Ampligen or placebo for a period of 12 weeks. Amarex Clinical Research, an NSF International company, is managing the FDA submission and will manage the clinical trial.

“This preliminary IND filing is not only a major milestone for the company, but also an important step forward for those individuals suffering from the debilitating long-term effects of COVID-19, including PCCD,” said AIM CEO Thomas K. Equels. “We are highly encouraged by the outlook for this trial based on the safety data we have amassed around Ampligen, combined with initial data suggesting that Ampligen may improve cognitive function among patients with PCCD. We look forward to reporting additional near-term milestones, as we advance Ampligen as a potential COVID-19 therapy.”

Developing an effective therapy is critical for relieving the socioeconomical impact of PCCD and its medical burden on the U.S. and global populations. People suffering from PCCD — including young adults — can suffer severe difficulties in concentrating, serious memory problems and inability to live an active lifestyle, unable to work, and even unable to perform everyday tasks. Recent coverage of this troubling emerging condition includes:

• National Geographic
• The Economist
• The New York Times

Early data have indicated that patients with symptoms of PCCD being treated with Ampligen in the ongoing AMP-511 Early Access Program have reported improvements in ability to concentrate or focus. Based on early data and AIM’s research, the company recently filed a provisional patent application for Ampligen as both an intravenous and intranasal therapy for PCCD.

The company hopes to make additional announcements about developing Ampligen as a potential COVID-19 therapy in the near future.

About AIM ImmunoTech Inc.

AIM ImmunoTech Inc. is an immuno-pharma company focused on the research and development of therapeutics to treat multiple types of cancers, immune disorders, and viral diseases, including COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.



September 9 2021 – The success of our 50th birthday celebrations continues to lift us up and drive CHI forward. We held our first Donor Recognition Event, where we inducted more than 80 donors into CHI’s Giving Societies with cumulative giving between $1,000  to over $300,000.  Thank you to our inductees for believing in CHI. If you missed our event, you can watch it by visiting www.chsiouthffl.org/givingsocieties.

The event was made extra special with the announcement of a $50,000 gift from Direct Relief. Direct Relief is a humanitarian aid organization active in all 50 states and in 80 countries, dedicated to improving the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergencies. In the past, Direct Relief has been instrumental in helping CHI acquire our Medical Mobile Van and PPE for our medical teams during the COVID-19 pandemic. And now, their $50,000 grant will help CHI continue providing quality care to the South Florida community. We are very grateful to the Direct Relief team for their support.

With less than $1 million away from our goal, our Children’s Crisis Center capital campaign is nearing the finish line – but not before we enjoy a few more festivities! Join us on our special birthday year for a variety of exciting events and fundraising initiatives. On September 25, we’re hosting our Golden Legacy 50th Anniversary Gala, complete with dancing, food, and incredible milestones. On October 7, we invite you to bring your ‘A’ game to our annual Glen Rice Celebrity Golf Tournament at the Biltmore Hotel Golf Course. All proceeds will go toward helping children with severe mental illness via our Children’s Crisis Center. To sponsor or buy your tickets to these events, visit chisouthfl.org/gala or chisouthfl.org/golf.

If you can’t make our events, there are plenty of other ways to give. Participate in CHI’s Happy Birthday Campaign, where every gift received this year, no matter the amount, is recognized on our Birthday Wall at Doris Ison Health Center and on our website. You can also design your own brick with a special message that will be laid at the entrance of the Children’s Crisis Center to welcome all who come for care. To donate, please visit our website at chisouthfl.org/give.

Sincerely,

Brodes H. Hartley, Jr.