Prevention

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.

In essence, infection prevention and control isn’t just one measure, like personal protective equipment (PPE), but all of these layers. Each layer is imperfect but plays a critical role in reducing risk.

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.”

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.

If you are on one of these medications one should perform strict social distancing and protect yourself from contracting COVID-19.

They are helping the investigation into surgical site infections. 

Youth, prison inmates and individuals with multiple tattoos that cover large parts of their bodies are at higher risk of contracting hepatitis C and other bloodborne diseases, according to a University of British Columbia study.

How to perform surgical hand scrubs.