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We must treat this strain with the respect it deserves, but we must not panic. There is no doubt that increased infectivity equates with increases in deaths, but it does not mean the vaccines will not work.

When it comes to COVID-19 vaccinations, it’s important to consider ancillary staff. Employees in environmental services, lab, respiratory therapy, physical therapy, and food services who have been working in high-risk areas.

Healthcare experts around the world worry that the COVID-19 mutation—called VUI–202012/01—might be 70% more infectious than the standard SARS-CoV-2 strain. There are no indications yet that it may also be more lethal or that vaccines can’t neutralize it.

Unlike traditional forms, Moderna’s mRNA-1273 vaccine does not put weakened or inactivated germs inside the body. Rather, it teaches cells to make proteins that will trigger an immune response by injecting ribonucleic acid into cells which gives them instructions.

Officials at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have the ability to convert several floors into airborne infection isolation rooms (AII), or more commonly termed negative pressure rooms, with the flip of a switch.

A panel of experts advising the FDA voted 20-1 (with 1 abstention) to tell the FDA that it should grant an emergency use authorization to Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine.

Bruce Y. Lee, MD, MBA: “We have to remember that infection control and prevention is not just dealing with the pathogen itself but dealing with the consequences and the downstream effects of what happens when you are dealing with the pathogen.”

Moderna’s phase 3 trial data about its messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine will be presented tomorrow to the FDA’s advisory panel of experts who could then grant an emergency use authorization.

This non-prescription test allows users to perform and get results themselves without a medical provider or laboratory needed.

V-Safe and VAERS are 2 monitoring systems for patients who are given a COVID-19 vaccine. Infection preventionists can play a vital role in educating about the strengths and drawbacks of each.

Angela Rasmussen, PhD: “Even if you are in the first group to get the vaccine, even if the vaccine becomes available widely beyond the first groups that are going to get it, we still need to be wearing masks, social distancing, thinking about ventilation, and avoiding large gatherings for some time to come.”

Infection preventionists can work with environmental services (EVS) leadership to implement a routine practice for quality assurance checks that EVS leadership can follow. These metrics can then be reviewed as an aggregate with the IP department to target whether further education may be beneficial.

An advisory panel to the FDA voted 17-4, with 1 abstention, to tell the FDA to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. US Health and Human Services secretary Alex Azar says that approval may come in days.

Infection preventionists are an important component of fostering trust in the healthcare system and need to actively articulate to both patients and on social media the need to be vaccinated and to follow public health advice.

Sharon Ward-Fore, MS, MT(ASCP), CIC: “If it were my institution, I would make sure that infection preventionists are educated on everything they need to know about the COVID vaccine, as well as the flu vaccine side effects.”

At this point, since 2014, we all have improved our ability to respond to and prevent emerging infectious diseases, so why not make this practice a permanent part of infection control and not just one that comes up ad hoc?

Public acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine is far from a lock. A nurse who participated in a trial for one of the vaccines up for FDA approval worries that side-effects will diminish uptake.

The FDA’s Related Biologic Products Advisory Committee meeting on Thursday will be the US’ first public forum on phase 3 data for a COVID-19 vaccine, a possible prelude to approval.

Compare transmission data for patients on contact precautions using the recommended full complement of PPE versus transmissions for patients on contact precautions when PPE was being utilized differently or not at all.

What’s the matter with Kansas? Well, for one thing, counties could choose whether to follow state health department guidelines on masking. COVID-19 case-count differences between counties that did and those that didn’t is striking.

Healthcare experts warn that we still have not felt the full effects of the surge that’s sure to come from the Thanksgiving holiday.

The CDC says that people without symptoms can stop quarantining on day 10 without getting a COVID-19 test. People who are tested and test negative, can stop quarantining on day 7.

Rebecca Leach: “I think the biggest thing is just having support, whoever it is. If it’s a fellow infection preventionist…. It really is that emotional support of being able to talk to each other about your experiences and really process your feelings.”

The United States recorded 3157 COVID-19 deaths yesterday, the highest number in a single day and more than 20% higher than the previous record of 2603 deaths set back on April 15.

Healthcare providers, according to the CDC advisory panel, includes workers at hospitals, outpatient clinics, long-term care facilities, public health agencies, home healthcare firms, pharmacies, and emergency medical services. About 24 million Americans in all.

When an 850-bed urban hospital fought off COVID-19 in part by having to relax infection prevention protocols, the opportunistic and deadly carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) struck.

Kevin Kavanagh, MD: “I would tell the Supreme Court that it’s very important that all high-risk venues are treated equally, but the remedy isn’t opening up one high-risk venue, the remedy should be closing down all high-risk venues.”

Susan E. Campbell, PhD, CIC: “In many cases, perhaps not all cases, but in many cases, infection preventionists can adapt what they know in the hospital setting and make it work in other settings.”