The Infection Control Today® COVID-19 page brings readers the latest information and clinical updates on the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, from case counts and hospitalization rates to data on effective treatments for severe disease and the circulating viral variants.
November 13th 2024
A 3-D approach to infection control involves air and surface cleaning, leveraging monitoring, purification, and modeling technologies to reduce respiratory infection risks in health care environments.
Q&A: Hospital Airflow Plays a Crucial Role in Infection Prevention
June 26th 2020Stephanie Taylor, MD: “In general, airflow has been managed by the engineers, by the architects, by the facility managers, and not so much by the clinicians. There is a lot you can do in indoor air management to decrease transmission of infections.”
Q&A: States Need to Mandate That Infection Preventionists be Certified
June 19th 2020Ann Marie Pettis, RN, BSN, CIC, FAPIC: “If indeed flu comes at the same time a second wave of COVID comes, that’s going to be difficult-unbelievably difficult because the symptoms obviously are somewhat similar. We’ll be trying to rule both of those things out. It will create more of a risk for a surge, and it will put more taxing on our PPE supplies.”
Infection Preventionists Prepare to Ride the Second Wave of COVID
June 17th 2020Those of us in healthcare and infection prevention must focus on sustainable efforts to combat COVID-19. How do we maintain readiness and response without burnout? There’s no solid answer to this, but a big piece really goes into the establishment of plans and education.
COVID-19 Lesson: How IPs Can Ensure We Never Run Out of PPE Again
June 10th 2020In many cases, the relationship between IP and the supply chain department is passive and fluctuates with emergencies or new products. What if, though, we worked to have a more proactive relationship that involved weekly meetings regarding the level of supplies, like PPE?
COVID-19 Experience Suggests Need for National Reporting System for Dangerous Pathogens
June 9th 2020Infection preventionists (IPs) are stretched to the limit with both reporting and patient responsibilities with an unwillingness of facilities to prioritize infectious disease prevention in their operating budgets.
Q&A: Infection Preventionist Role Will Expand Because of COVID-19
June 4th 2020Rebecca Leach, RN, BSN, MPH, CIC: “Infection preventionists had to work very closely with our supply chain and look at all of our options and really keep track of it. I also think working with lab more closely will be important in the future, to understand testing modalities, understanding our abilities to test and interpreting those tests.”
COVID-19 Reveals Fatal Infection Prevention Flaws at Long-Term Care Facilities
June 2nd 2020Many healthcare facilities, not only LTCFs, have turned to online training for staff and then designate the employee as competent to do their job. Online training does not prove competency; it provides training.
Q&A: Reopening After COVID-19: Proceed With Caution
May 28th 2020Kevin Kavangh, MD: “What worries me the most about reopening is that people going to say, ‘Oh, it’s over with’ and not do any sort of protection, whether it’s social distancing, wearing masks, not gathering in crowds. I really think that people will think, ‘Well, we got this beat.’”