COVID-19

Infection preventionists come from many different backgrounds. However, many left the field during the COVID-19 pandemic. It will require creative methods to preserve existing IP staff and educate those entering the field.

The rate of unemployment, long COVID, and immune system issues are still causing problems globally.

“The public health emergency ending doesn't mean that infectious disease [threats] are over, whether from COVID-19 or otherwise.”

“It doesn't matter if the public health emergency goes away or not. Because we haven't taken advantage of the public health emergency over the last 2 years to understand and address the gaps quite apparent to every American out there.”

Saskia v. Popescu, PhD, MPH, MA, CIC, gives the latest on COVID-19, including the end of the Public Health Emergency, and Mpox.

Although the public health emergency for COVID-19 is officially over, infection rates, precautions, and safety measures for communities around the United States still need to be addressed.

Establishing a permanent system for monitoring the persistence and emergence of dangerous pathogens is necessary, especially COVID-19.

A veteran in the sterile processing field, Sharon Greene-Golden gave several presentations at the HSPA Annual Conference. She spoke to ICT about them.

Yet another subvariant. But what makes this one different? Should we be more concerned?

To ensure the accuracy of the information concerning Candida auris, Infection Control Today has spoken with 2 medical scientists from the CDC.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today®’s highlights for the week ending April 30, 2023.

Findings provide the first published evidence of the relationship between standard precaution adherence and the safety of health care workers and patients.

A study published in AJIC describes how one health care system implanted an initiative by their IPs to prevent the health care-acquired infections when COVID-19 loomed over their work.

In the infections the investigators examined, about 60% of the bacteria that cause these infections did have a carbapenemase gene. Did they find a mortality difference in those infections which did and didn’t?

What are the issues if sterile processing departments (SPDs) can't hire more qualified personnel?

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today®’s highlights for the week ending April 23, 2023.

How is infection prevention different in dental offices from other health care facilities? Experts explain.

Unlike hospitals, ambulatory settings have traditionally lacked adequate infrastructure and resources to support infection prevention and monitoring.

The CDC updated and simplified its vaccine recommendations on April 19, 2023, and the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA bivalent COVID-19 vaccines should be used for all vaccinations in the US.

Kevin Kavanagh, MD, discusses how Russian bots have tried to convince the United States public that masking is unnecessary. What do the latest studies say?

Since the Marburg virus is deadly, what would it be like to work with it in a laboratory setting? And what can be done to protect those who work with patients with Marburg?

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today®’s highlights for the week ending April 16, 2023.

With the focus of COVID-19, MRSA infections increased. How did the VA work to prevent this pathogen?

Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) or catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) have been increasing since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. What is the IP's role in preventing them and the mortalities that sometimes accompany them?

At the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID), 2 posters about the COVID-19 antiviral, ensitrelvir, will be presented. ICT found out more about what they say.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today®’s highlights for the week ending April 9, 2023.

One focus of the 2023 Association of PeriOperative Nurses (AORN) 2023 Conference in San Antonio, Texas, was ambulatory health care, and ICT spoke to presenters on the importance of emergency preparedness drills.

The decline in the overall health of United States citizens has been blamed on good public health strategies, but the data doesn't support that idea. So, what does the data show? ICT examines what studies show.

Ambulatory surgical centers (ASC) were a main topic at the AORN 2023 Conference, and Erica Smith, MBA, PhD candidate, tells ICT about her presentation on the importance of infection control and prevention in the ASC.

Vangie Dennis, MSN, RN, CNOR, CMLSO, president of the Association of PeriOperative Nurses (AORN), discusses the goals she and the Board of Directors reached during her tenure, the future of AORN, and the annual conference in San Antonio, Texas.