Today, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved booster doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech 

Now, children as young as 5 can receive a third dose of the vaccine at 5 or more months after their initial 2-dose Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination series.

“While it has largely been the case that 

 tends to be less severe in children than adults, the Omicron wave has seen more kids getting sick with the disease and being hospitalized,” Robert M. Califf, MD, the FDA Commissioner, said in a statement explaining the expanded recommendation. “Children may also experience longer term effects, even following initially mild disease.”

There has been a growing push for approval of boosters in children. “Emerging data suggest that vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 wanes after the second dose of the vaccine in all authorized populations,” said Peter Marks, MD, PhD, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

“The FDA has determined that the known and potential benefits of a single booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children 5 through 11 years of age at least five months after completing a primary series outweigh its known and potential risks and that a booster dose can help provide continued protection against COVID-19 in this and older age groups.”

 Pfizer-BioNTech booster shots for children 12 years and older. Simultaneous with this expansion to adolescents, the FDA shortened the time in between second and third doses from 6 months to 5 months.

Pfizer-BioNTech is currently the only COVID-19 vaccine approved for children and adolescents (5-17 years of age). Moderna 

 filing for EUA of its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine for children as young as 6 months, but Pfizer-BioNTech is still the only COVID-19 vaccine FDA- and 

 for primary vaccination and booster vaccination in children.

The efficacy of COVID-19 booster vaccination in pediatric populations was based on results from an ongoing, randomized, placebo-controlled study. 

 contributed to the initial FDA decision to approve Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children 5-11 years.

Investigators monitored the safety and antibody responses of 67 children who received a booster dose 7-9 months after their initial 2-dose Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine series. Comparatively, COVID-19 antibody titers increased significantly after a booster dose.

Another study of approximately 400 children in this age group assessed the safety of receiving a booster 5-9 months after primary vaccination. The most common adverse events were pain, injection site reactions (redness and swelling), fatigue, headache, muscle or joint pain, chills, and fever.

“Vaccination continues to be the most effective way to prevent COVID-19 and its severe consequences, and it is safe,” Califf said. “If your child is eligible for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and has not yet received their primary series, getting them vaccinated can help protect them from the potentially severe consequences that can occur, such as hospitalization and death.”

Articles

Children 5 to 11 years old now can receive a booster shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.  

Pfizer-BioNTech Booster Dose Approved for Children 5 and Older

.  She has been a writer and editor for over 30 years.  She has an MA and BA in English Composition/Literature from the University of Akron in Akron, OH.  

In all health care settings, one significant barrier to effective care for the patient is lack of exchange of information, especially when the care is at home. Communication tends to be much easier in the acute care settings because the health care workers (HCWs) are all in 1 location. So how do home HCWs overcome that obstacle for patients with chronic illnesses? How can HCWs in all settings work together for the best outcome for the patients they care for?

Recently, Sara C. Keller MD, MSHP, MPH, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Armstrong Institute of Patient Safety and Quality, spoke with 

 addressing this concern. Her key point is how communication and collaboration between infection preventionists (IPs) in the home health care field and their counterparts in the acute care settings can improve the outcome for the patient. However, where does the Infection Preventionist begin the process?

 Especially for IPs who work in large work for hospitals or in other settings, where there is a large integrated health system, reach out to some of your colleagues who are in home care…if you don't already work with them carefully…and get a little bit of an understanding of what they're trying to do.

     In some respects, [IPs who work in the patients’ home] work very hard, but they have much fewer resources, and [fewer] years of expertise, when compared with many IPs working in more traditional-type acute care settings might have. Reaching out to staff and perhaps quality staff—many agencies do not actually have IPs—and understanding what their needs are. Working with them, perhaps sharing [your knowledge]. They're hungry for educational resources, [so] share any educational resources that [you have] found useful. Certainly, pointing them in directions of widely available resources through APIC, SHEA, NHSN, AHRQ or other agencies and organizations. 

     Just [get] to know [the IPs], so that if a patient is admitted, for example, to the hospital with positive blood with bacteremia, and a central line, so that the IP may not need to do any further workup, [but still] let the home infusion agency know. It would be extremely appreciated having that information. Communication and collaboration and sharing of resources, both educational and data or analytic resources that might be potentially useful. 

     As health care moves out of acute care hospitals and into different settings, really thinking of what we do. What the infection prevention community does is kind of across an entire system. And taking that perspective, how can we best collaborate and coordinate with others following the same patient?

: Isn't it funny how communication is always the key? For everything, it is always the key.

Videos

Infection preventionists in both the home health care and acute care settings need to communicate and collaborate with each other for the best outcome for the patient. 


Always the Key: Communication Leads to Effective Home Health Care 

A home bathroom could be a source of pathogens. (Adobe Stock)

 left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) driveline infection, consider the patient's bathroom at home as a potential source of infection to reduce hospital re-admissions, repeated surgeries, and costs. Adding protective measures at home to the current standards could support infection prevention.

American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC)

 is a Gram-negative pathogen that thrives in moist environments. Contaminated sinks and drains are known sources of HAI infections, and patients and their caregivers should implement and adhere to strict infection prevention and control guidelines.

“Driveline infections are feared complications in patients with left ventricular assist devices (LVAD), due to significant morbidity and mortality. The LVAD supports the cardiac function by reducing the workload of the left ventricle.” The investigators wrote in the study. “This case illustrates the need for infection prevention measures at home.”

The case noted in the study involved a patient aged 54 suffering from end stage heart failure, based on dilating cardiomyopathy.The patient was given an LVAD (HeartMate III Abbott) as bridge to heart transplant. Conforming to the investigators’ clinical protocol, the patient refrained from showering during the first 3 months following LVAD surgery. At routine outpatient clinic evaluation, the surgery wound was healing as anticipated, with no signs of infection present. Thus, the patient was allowed to shower at home 3 months after LVAD placement. The patient’s instructions said to replace the dressing after showering. Although the patient had 6 weeks of antibiotics, a positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET-CT) scan showed continuing inflammation and the driveline was surgically relocated. Ceftazidime was continued for 14 days post-surgery.

Culture swabs were taken from the patient's bathroom at home to identify the source of the infection. The investigators found 

 on the shower drain, a wall-mounted shower head, and the non-slip shower mat. Molecular typing by Multiple Locus Variable-Numbers Tandem Repeat Analysis (MLVA); a method used to determine the genetic relatedness among bacterial strains, exposed that all environmental isolates were like the 

 from the exit site. The investigators wrote that the driveline exit site MLVA type was 1-5-11-2-6-12-8-4. These results were validated by whole genome sequencing. Environmental isolates differed only 1-9 loci (out of 5967) from the clinical isolate (Illumina technology in BioNumerics v7.6; Applied Maths, St-Martens-Latem, Belgium), which is well below the proposed cut-off value of 13 alleles difference. All isolates belonged to Sequence Type (ST)348.

“Our patient was most likely infected at home by upward transmission (eg splashing, via towel use) from the mat and shower drain, as both tested positive for 

the investigators explained. “The wall-mounted shower jet also tested positive but was not used. Direct transmission from water by showering seems unlikely as the main showerhead, and the water tested negative. Airborne transmission from the drain has been reported, with 

 positive air samples after showering. However, this was not investigated in our case.”

Consistent drying of the shower and sink after use is highly recommended because waterborne pathogens do not as easily grow in a dry environment. Non-slip shower mats can harbor bacteria because bacteria can easily attach to and grow on the material. Also, all cleaning materials should be washed at 60⁰ Celsius immediately after use.

“This list could increase awareness about community infection risks and might also be protective of other waterborne pathogens,” the investigators said. “As we assume the patients’ entire shower system contains a biofilm with 

, we additionally advised faucet filters to sterilize water.”

Prevent splashing of water, preferably by installing a covering drain top.

Dry sink and surroundings, outwards to inwards.Avoid touching drain with drying towel.

Dry rubber plug, if applicable.Clean plug in a washing machine or dishwasher weekly, preferably at 60⁰ Celsius or higher.

Consider shower floor and sink as potentially contaminated with pathogens. Avoid contact with towels and other cleaning attributes.

Using a non-slip shower mat is highly discouraged.

New study describes the case report and gives guidelines on how to prevent infection in the home. 


Home Bathroom Could be LVAD Driveline Infection Source 

Here are 5 highlights from ICT®’s wide-ranging coverage of the infection prevention and control world. Everything from interviews with known opinion leaders, to the news that infection preventionists and other health care professionals can use on their jobs.

AB.4 and BA.5 Variants, Pandemic Fatigue, and Waning Immunity: A Toxic Mix

Few individuals in the United States are currently wearing masks, and many are continuing to engage in risky behavior. This may well be a toxic mix, and healthcare facilities and infection preventionists need to prepare for another possible surge in cases.

Robotic-Assisted Surgery Presents Unique Sterile Processing Challenges

Sterile processing of robotic surgery instruments and other complex instruments require complex methods.

Web-Based Hand Hygiene Application Improves HCW Compliance

Swiss hospital developed and implemented “Clean Hands,” and the results are significant over paper data collection.

An IP’s Newest Weapon: CBIC's LTC Certification

Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc (CBIC) is debuting a new certification for infection preventionists (IPs) who work in long-term care (LTC) settings.

Team Effort Significantly Reduces Hospital-Onset C-difficile Infections

The interprofessional team implemented multiple evidenced-based interventions that demonstrated sustained compliance.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending May 13. 


Weekly Rounds: New COVID-19 Variants, Robotic Surgery Challenges, and more 

By instituting interprofessional teams to implement evidence-based infection-prevention interventions, health care facilities can demonstrably reduce the incidence of hospital-onset 

 “Interprofessional Collaboration Leads to Significant and Sustained Reduction in Hospital-Onset C. Difficile Infections,” published in the 

The lead author, Cherith Walter MSN, RN, APRN, AGPCNP-BC, AGCNS-BC, clinical nurse specialist at Emory Saint Joseph's Hospital of Atlanta, and her colleague also involved in the study, Tanushree Soni, PhD, MPH, CIC, infection prevention coordinator of Emory Healthcare Systems, spoke to 

) about their results and their upcoming research around this topic.

To address the HO-CDI incidence at their 410-bed community hospital, Walter and Soni, and their colleagues created an interprofessional team involving a clinical nurse specialist, a physician champion, a hospital epidemiologist, an infection preventionist, a clinical microbiologist, unit nurse champions, an antimicrobial stewardship pharmacist, and an environmental services representative. After reviewing HO-CDI events at their facility between 2014 and 2016 to determine causative factors, the team then identified appropriate, evidence-based infection prevention interventions.

“The cornerstone of [the study] was this testing algorithm, which we called 'The Diarrhea Decision Tree (DDT),'” Walter told 

in an exclusive interview. “We had a nurse-driven protocol, [that required] in those first 3 days—that community-acquired timeframe—nurses could autonomously test any loose or unformed stool. Then [we used] some evidence-based criteria for how the nurses would test stool starting at day 4 and after.“

The investigators achieved their objective to reduce HO-CDI. “The main goal of this [study was] to identify the infections early on, so that the patients could get the right treatment. andbe isolated so that we could prevent the transmission to other patients. Patient Safety was our first goal. And we used the diagnostics because we wanted to empower our nurses.”

The investigators emphasized that the study was a team effort. “The team today has been amazing, and it takes all of us together,” Walter said.

Team Effort Significantly Reduces Hospital-Onset C-difficile Infections 

Physician washing hands and arms (Adobe Stock)

Hand hygiene (HH) is the first and simplest defense against HAIs and spreading infections in general, and health care facilities struggle to improve and maintain HH compliance among their staff.

As part of a national campaign in Switzerland, between 2005 and 2006, measurements of HH compliance in health care facilities were conducted through direct observations and collecting data on paper forms.

, “Implementation of an electronic, secure web-based application to support routine hand hygiene observation with immediate direct feedback and anonymised benchmarking,” in the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC) point out that the main disadvantage of HH data collection on paper forms is how time-consuming and costly the manual processing of the data is and the long delay before the results were reported back to the institutions.

One hospital in Switzerland designed and implemented an electronic web-based application called “CleanHands” that gives immediate direct feedback to the user. The application has replaced the hospital’s paper questionnaires and has demonstrated to be easier and more effective than traditional methods of measuring HH compliance.

“Our aim was to develop a standardized electronic tool that eliminates these disadvantages and allows easy digital recording of adherence to HH,” the investigators wrote in the study. “The tool should be easy to introduce in everyday clinical routine and then be evaluated for its suitability in the context of a local campaign. In addition to data collection with a uniform methodology for epidemiological studies, immediate analysis should be feasible to allow for direct feedback with anonymised benchmarking. We hypothesized that this facilitates both the use in training and for disease outbreak interventions.”

Originally, “CleanHands” was tested at a 700-bed hospital when conducting a direct observational study without intervention on HH adherence, and to evaluate “CleanHands” web application for everyday clinical routine and as part of a local HH campaign. The multi-modal HH campaign was conducted from January to July 2011. The campaign consisted of training and educational sessions, the placement of campaign reminders on the doors of patients' rooms, and the web application’s compliance measurement with instant analysis and direct feedback.

In the study, the investigators state that the application demonstrates “the successful implementation of a newly developed secure web-based electronic tool to assess HH adherence with instant analysis for direct feedback in clinical routine.” Further, “As the tool has been adopted and implemented by the Swiss National Centre for Infection Prevention (Swissnoso) in more than 100 hospitals in Switzerland since August 2014, it does not only support routine HH surveillance and training but also mono- or multicentre HH campaigns and research.”

Compliance of Professional Groups Within the Study

For their study, the investigators compared their results to previous studies’ results by paper questionnaires. While various studies investigated the difference between occupational groups in terms of HH adherence, the investigators found that disparities have decreased overall because of the campaign they instigated, chiefly due to better adherence among physicians.

One key point of the study was the small but noteworthy differences of HH compliance between the professional groups. The HH compliance between nurses and doctors was 79% and 76% respectively. Paramedical hospital staff was 70%. A 

Mean HH adherence to World Health Organization (WHO) indications after patient contact, including touching the patient 86%, contact with body fluids 86%, and patient environment 80%, and additionally “between patients” 86% were significantly higher than before patient contact, including touching the patient 67%, and aseptic activity 75%.

“Significantly lower adherence was observed for pre-patient versus post-patient contact indications,” noted the investigators. “In previous studies, a greater concern regarding self-protection over potential contamination was mentioned as a possible explanation. Targeted training concerning this indication led to an improvement in adherence 'before patient contact' from 59% in 2009 to 71% in 2016.”

HH adherence increased from 78% before the multi-modal HH campaign to 85% during the campaign; however, it dropped back to 78% later during campaign. Among physicians, a significant increase in HH compliance from 69.5% to 87.8% during the campaign, while HH adherence among nurses increased only slightly from 80.5% to 83.4%, although statistically significant.

Concerningly, according to the study’s authors, “In comparison, a significantly lower mean HH adherence of 71% was observed on the intensive care units compared to normal wards, with values around 80%.”

While the intervention as part of a multi-modal campaign showed that further improvement in adherence is possible even where HH adherence is already high, the investigators note that without regularly raising awareness of hand hygiene and repeated training, the achievements do not seem sustainable.

No distinction during the study was made between hand disinfection with an alcohol-based sand sanitizer and hand washing with soap and water.

An article on improving HCW compliance from 

. A discussion on WHO’s 6-Step process is 

 has many more articles on HH, and these 

Infection Preventionists Cleaning and Inspecting a LTC (Adobe Stock)

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the US, long-term care (LTC) facilities were hit especially hard. Infection preventionists (IPs) were needed more than ever, but knowledge requirements and what the specialized skill entailed varied from one LTC to another. In response to this need for clarification of what IPs should know, 

Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc (CBIC

 for infection prevention and control professionals who work in long-term care settings.

“The LTC certification will show that an IP will have more insight and competency in infection control.An IP will have an internationally recognized certification in IPC and can demonstrate proficiency in all the various aspects of IPC,” said Carla Lewandowski, LPN told 

. “And since continuing education will be required, the IP will show further dedication to the profession.”

This certification is not the first LTC IP certification, for example, CDC has one on its 

; however, a certification from the CBIC will be highly recognized in the IPC profession because of its long-known CIC certification for IPs. Any IPs interested in this certification can sign up for updates 

(Figure 2) Infection prevention control strategies 

Why should IPs get this certification? The key reason is that LTC facilities could require IPs to take this course to know the required information. This certification can add to the LTC facilities with a full-time IP.Other companies, such as factories, business offices, and even restaurants could have an employee take the certification in the age of COVID-19, methicillin-resistant 

“The long-term care examination is the standardized measure of the basic knowledge, skills and abilities expected of professionals working in the field of long-term care infection prevention and control,” according to the CBIC website.

Only one section of the content outline that IPs should know include interpreting the relevance of diagnostic, radiologic, procedural, and laboratory reports; identifying appropriate practices for specimen collection, transportation, handling, and storage; and correlating clinical signs, symptoms, and test results to identify possible infectious disease (Figure 1).

CBIC said it will begin accepting applications for the certification in July, with an initial testing period opening in September.

The organization also pointed out that the program supports with the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology’s (APIC’s) 

 last month urging the US health care industry, including long-term care facilities, to strengthen IPC best practices and policies in case of future pandemics.

(Figure 2) Federal regulations for infection prevention and control in long-term care facilities. 

It also helps fulfill the Code of Federal Regulation for LTC facilities:

The facility must establish and maintain an infection prevention and control program designed to provide a safe, sanitary, and comfortable environment and to help prevent the development and transmission of communicable diseases and infections” (Figure 2).

“The mission of CBIC is to provide pathways to assess and maintain infection prevention competency, ensuring that Infection Preventionists in specific settings are in possession of the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to serve patient populations,” according to the president’s welcome message on the CBIC website. “This year, CBIC has been taking steps toward fulfilling this mission by exploring a new infection prevention certification for those working in Long-Term Care settings. The Practice Analysis is now complete and test development will continue through 2022, with the goal of the long-term care examination going live in 2023." 

 discussed the legislation requiring a full time IP in nursing homes 

Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc (CBIC) is debuting a new certification for infection preventionists (IPs) who work in long-term care (LTC) settings.



Highly complex instruments can pose major challenges to processes and procedures, especially for robotic surgery. This was the key takeaway from a presentation, “Challenges for Processing: Robot-Assisted Surgery,” delivered by Matthias Tschoener, Dr Sc Nat, and head of Applications Department, Research and Development at Dr. Weigert, at the 

2022 Healthcare Sterile Processing Association Annual Conference & Expo

, held in San Antonio, Texas, April 23-27, 2022.

Tschoener presented methods and experiences from validation and European practices on how safe automated processing can succeed in the long term. He described the suitable processes and procedures that demonstrate compliance with their requirements of various regulations, eg in performance qualification according to ISO 15883-1. Speaking with 

), Tschoerner also discussed how sterile processors in the United States could learn from their European counterparts.

“We are engaged in international standardization at our organization, so the processes come very close,” Tschoerner told 

. “Every [German] washer/disinfector [units] must be validated at minimum once a year. This process may be different in other countries [like] the US.”

His presentation covered the critical parameters of cleaning and disinfection, and he discussed those factors with 

 that he listed as chemistry, temperature, and mechanics. The entire process is relevant to the results starting in the OR which includes many different parts. One component is how well the manual pretreatment is done directly affects how well the outcome turns out to be; however, certain pretreatments are disadvantageous like peroxides and steamers. It depends on the instruments and how contaminated they are.

“Sometimes we have instruments that are lightly contaminated, for example urine bottles that you can rinse very easily,” Tschoerner said, “If you have orthopedic instruments like bone drills, [then] you have to use much more mechanic [cleaning method]…and this makes a higher demand on the cleaning process.”

It is key that the compliance of automated procedures with performance requirements can be demonstrated with specific load carriers and performance testing. Finally, the good performance and material compatibility of mild-alkaline enzymatic cleaners need to be demonstrated. More complex instruments become, the more challenging cleaning them can be.

Sterile processing of robotic surgery instruments and other complex instruments require complex methods. 

Robotic-Assisted Surgery Presents Unique Sterile Processing Challenges     

KEVIN KAVANAGH, MD, is the founder of the patient advocacy group Health Watch USA

In the beginning of the Omicron surge, the COVID-19 deniers were stating that no one died of the Omicron. At the end of the wave, the United States had 

® warned in an article entitled “Omicron’s Mild Symptoms Can’t Mask Danger It Poses” that “those who are not vaccinated or immunosuppressed are at risk for severe disease.” On Dec. 20, 2021, Reuters reported that “infections caused by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus do not appear to be less severe than infections from Delta, according to early data from the UK.” Despite the early warnings, reporting on infections being more benign with a lower-case fatality rate continued in most of the news media. This month, a definitive study from Harvard and the Massachusetts General Hospital concluded that the “Omicron variant is as deadly as previous waves after adjusting for vaccinations, demographics, and comorbidities.”

The confusion occurred because Omicron’s case-fatality rates are biased with the inclusion of a large number of vaccinated individuals. If someone concluded that the disease from Omicron was less severe, and thus, they do not need to become vaccinated and protect themselves, then they might have made a fatal error and, at the very least, increased their risk of developing long COVID-19.

For those who have not recently recovered from an infection or let their vaccination immunity wane, their chances of dying or getting long COVID-19 by undertaking a risky activity is far too high. One must remember that even with a low case fatality rate, very high infectivity can overcome the lower virulence by producing a large number of severe cases. Thus, their chances of getting sick during an event is a combination of the infectivity and virulence of the virus; and infectivity increases the chance of severe illness exponentially.
 
Unfortunately, one’s protection from an infection is not durable. The virus mutates and immune escape variants emerge. This appears to have happened in South Africa with the BA.4 and BA.5 variants. An estimated 90% of the population of South Africa has been exposed to Omicron, and they are still undergoing another surge with the new variants (See Figure).
 


BA.4 and BA.5 are thought to be 36% more infectious than the BA.2 Variant and effectively evade immunity. The severity of the disease is not known. Initial reports from South Africa indicate that severity is similar to Omicron; however, the accuracy of reporting from South Africa, similar to Sweden, has come under fire. An article in The Lancet reported South Africa’s excess death rate to be 3.31 times higher than their COVID-19 death rate—one of the highest ratios in the world.

The immediate outlook for the United States warrants concern. 

 in the last week with hospitalizations increasing 9%. This increase is fueled by the BA.2 variant and its more infectious offspring, BA.2.12.1. The BA.2.12.1 variant is more infectious than BA.2 and currently 

comprises 36% of sequenced cases in the United States

 the BA.4 and BA.5 variant in 14 states and is likely already in every state in the nation. Although only a few cases have been reported and these variants comprise only a small minority of sequenced cases, individuals need to react now. especially because the United States does not have the best 

 for variants with “some European countries and even South Africa have better sequencing capabilities than the U.S.” Because of these risks, the CDC has restated their recommendation to wear 

, and individuals may need to reevaluate the wisdom of holding large events such as the White House Correspondence Dinner. The latter may well be another super spreader event with 

 agencies testing positive for the virus.
 
Although many individuals measure success by the number who die of COVID-19, the ravages of long COVID-19 are deeply disturbing. The United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics estimates that 10% to 25% of COVID-19 survivors may develop persistent symptoms. A recent study from the 

 found that “78% (of patients with long COVID-19) reported difficulty concentrating, 69% reported brain fog, 68% reported forgetfulness, and 60% reported problems finding the right word in speech.” Further, COVID-19 causes 

 to what occurs between the ages of 50 to 70, equivalent to losing 10 IQ points.
From Dec. 2021 to Feb. 2022, the seroprevalence in the United States from 

 Since that time, many more infections from Omicron have occurred. In addition, 66% of the United States citizens are currently “

.” Thus, almost everyone in the United States has had some exposure to SARS-CoV-2. If herd immunity can be achieved, then the United States should have achieved it. If another surge occurs, unfortunately, those numbers may be the status quo.

With new variants emerging, cases rising and a more complete understanding of the dangers of long COVID-19, one can make a strong case for resuming public health measures intended to control spread and infections from this disease. Unfortunately, even in the face of waning immunity, few individuals in the United States are currently wearing masks, and many are continuing to engage in risky behavior. This may well be a toxic mix, and healthcare facilities, and infection preventionists need to prepare for another possible surge in cases.



Few individuals in the United States are currently wearing masks, and many are continuing to engage in risky behavior. This may well be a toxic mix, and healthcare facilities and infection preventionists need to prepare for another possible surge in cases.   

AB.4 and BA.5 Variants, Pandemic Fatigue, and Waning Immunity: A Toxic Mix 

Here are 5 highlights from ICT®’s wide-ranging coverage of the infection prevention and control world. Everything from interviews with known opinion leaders, to the news that infection preventionists and other health care professionals can use on their jobs.

Can C difficile Infection Be Spread Via Hospital Beds?

A patient has a higher risk of infection of C difficile in a hospital bed that previously held a patient who also had C difficile.

Candida auris Rapidly Recontaminates Surfaces Around Patients’ Beds Despite Cleaning and Disinfection

Candida auris environmental contamination is unlikely to be adequately controlled because re-contamination occurs within hours after disinfection.

Surface Disinfection Incompatibility Does Not Support Effective Cleaning and Disinfection

The surface material and product damage caused by new advances in disinfection technology must be addressed for patient safety.

Environmental Measures Disrupt Transmission of HAIs

Time, staff, and budget constraints make it difficult to expand HAI mitigation programs despite the obvious and urgent need to do so.

WHO’s World Hand Hygiene Day for Infection Preventionists: Unite for Safety: Clean Your Hands

PDI’s director of clinical affairs speaks with ICT® about the annual focus on the most fundamental way to protect patients and health care workers alike.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending May 6.
