Weekly Rounds with Infection Control Today: Battling COVID and Flu, Fixing Masking Problems, Vaccine Hesitancy in Health Care Workers
Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending October 15.
Here are 5 highlights from ICT®’s wide-ranging coverage of the infection prevention and control world. Everything from interviews with known opinion leaders, to the news that infection preventionists and other health care professionals can use on their jobs.
Even in Shadow of COVID-19, Influenza Poses Pandemic Threat
The ability of any infectious agent to maintain constant transmission enables it to be an ongoing threat to public health. Few pathogens have achieved greater success at ongoing transmission potential than the influenza virus.
Many Masking Problems Can’t be Masked
Infection preventionists and other health care providers need masks that can easily be fit-tested or are more moldable to ensure a good seal—Saskia v. Popescu, PhD, MPH, MA, CIC.
The Young, the Old, and COVID-19
As COVID-19 infection, hospitalization, and mortality rates head downward, pediatric SARS-CoV-2 rates rise, and nursing homes can again become disaster zones. And remember: Winter is coming.
COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Health Care Workers: Why?
Vaccine hesitant health care professionals are most likely to be persuaded by fellow workers. Meanwhile, mandates can backfire.
Twofer Vaccine in the Making Works Against ‘Twindemic’ of Flu, COVID-19
A one-and-done vaccine that prevents both influenza and COVID-19 might help alleviate vaccine hesitancy for both conditions.
Beyond the Surface: Rethinking Environmental Hygiene Validation at Exchange25
June 30th 2025Environmental hygiene is about more than just shiny surfaces. At Exchange25, infection prevention experts urged the field to look deeper, rethink blame, and validate cleaning efforts across the entire care environment, not just EVS tasks.
A Controversial Reboot: New Vaccine Panel Faces Scrutiny, Support, and Sharp Divides
June 26th 2025As the newly appointed Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met for the first time under sweeping changes by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the national spotlight turned to the panel’s legitimacy, vaccine guidance, and whether science or ideology would steer public health policy in a polarized era.
Getting Down and Dirty With PPE: Presentations at HSPA by Jill Holdsworth and Katie Belski
June 26th 2025In the heart of the hospital, decontamination technicians tackle one of health care’s dirtiest—and most vital—jobs. At HSPA 2025, 6 packed workshops led by experts Jill Holdsworth and Katie Belski spotlighted the crucial, often-overlooked art of PPE removal. The message was clear: proper doffing saves lives, starting with your own.
