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Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra: “Phase 2 of the COVID origins study must be launched with terms of reference that are transparent, science-based, and give international experts the independence to fully assess the source of the virus and the early days of the outbreak.”

The company reports that for fully vaccinated study participants aged 12-17 (2 doses administered) no cases of COVID-19 were reported.

In terms of severe post-acute complications from COVID-19, there is a low relative risk for those who were not admitted to the hospital.

The new CDC mask guidance came down so quickly that it just didn’t give people time to prepare, and it also ignores that we still have a majority of the population not fully vaccinated.

Efforts to pinpoint the pandemic’s cause might have been stymied by the Chinese Communist Party.

Infection preventionists—many of whom are trying to tamp down vaccine hesitancy among some fellow health care professionals—should prepare to help with an autumn campaign.

Last week the number of COVID-19 cases dropped below 40,000 for the first time since mid-September. This past week, they’ve dropped below 30,000, about a 20% improvement in just 1 week.

Investigators developed a sensor system that amplifies the binding signal for a target biomarker in order to detect the presence of a virus.

In the study, cotton masks stopped 45%-73% of coronavirus aerosols. Masks with nanofiber filters blocked 99.9% of the particles.

CDC data show that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines reduced the risk of getting sick with COVID-19 by 94% among health care personnel who were fully vaccinated.

Despite good news in the U.S., victory over a worldwide pandemic can’t exclude half of the world.

Linda Spaulding RN, BC, CIC: “It only takes you saying something a couple times that the OR knows is absolutely absurd and incorrect, and it’s going to ruin the relationship for a long time. Infection preventionists really need to take the responsibility of learning.”

"We have all longed for this moment when we can get back to some sense of normalcy," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, said.

A growing avalanche of real-world evidence attests to the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccinations. The more people of every age group who can be vaccinated the better, says the CDC.

Infectious disease transmission isn’t as simple as a singular label that doesn’t describe the nuance or situations that increase or decrease risk.

The World Health Organization calls the B.1.617 a COVID-19 variant of global concern. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that it’s not that much of a concern in the United States for now.

Sara M. Reese, PhD, MPH, CIC, and Sarah Smathers, MPH, CIC, were 2 of the coauthors of a recent study that talks about how hospitals and other health care systems can bolster IP ranks.

Americans seem to be welcoming the post-COVID-19 world with open (and vaccinated) arms these days.

There are not enough infection preventionists to go around now, and trends suggest that there may even be fewer in the future. But there are ways to shore up the ranks, a study says.

Though children and adolescents are generally subjected to milder forms of COVID-19 compared to adults, the EUA expansion marks a new threshold for immunization rate opportunity and likelihood of pandemic mitigation.

An actively engaged hospital management team can make the difference between success or failure when it comes to managing health care-acquired infections, a study states.

Nursing homes, already strapped for employees, lost about 19,500 workers last month, according to government figures. Question: What’s happened to all the funding nursing homes have gotten because of COVID-19?

Infection preventionists need to stress the importance of aerosolization with increased recommendations for N-95 masks and we all need to realize that a prerequisite of reopening a business, school or public venue should be safe ventilation.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai: “The administration believes strongly in intellectual property protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for COVID-19 vaccines.”

Some health care workers who are hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine are waiting to see what the vaccine does to their colleagues who have gotten it first, a study suggests.

Kevin Kavanagh, MD: “India has the double mutation [COVID-19] variant. That’s the variant that has two escape mutations. And that is a variant we do not need to get into the United States and have it spread. Infection preventionists need to be out there beating the drum. First in their facility: They need to get everybody vaccinated.”

Ultraviolet-C light makes benzalkonium chloride, which is found in many disinfectants, safer to use.

What happens in India, or anywhere else in the world, doesn't stay there. The longer COVID-19 hangs around, the more chance it has of mutating into a variant that the vaccines won't stop.