Weekly Rounds with Infection Control Today: Stop the Variants, Booster Shot Questions, What’s New in NICUs
Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending August 20.
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.
Take a Stand Now to Stop COVID-19 Variants
Herd immunity is no longer possible, the virus is mutating and likely has animal hosts. We must raise the bar on public health outcomes, not only focusing on deaths but also morbidity and long-hauler syndrome which can be all too common, even occurring with vaccine breakthrough infections.
COVID-19 Booster Shots Alone Might Not Stop Delta and Other Variants
Booster shots are great, but the way back to our normal lives involves a multi-pronged approach to infection prevention.
Nursing Home Employees Must Get COVID-19 Vaccine, says Biden
Only 40% of nursing home employees are vaccinated. Nursing home advocates counter that vaccine hesitancy exists in all health care settings, and if nursing home employees must get the vaccine, the same should apply to all health care workers in the United States.
COVID-19 Gave Birth to Changes in Neonatal Intensive Care Units
Testing of the infant of the COVID-19–positive mother requires 2 negative COVID-19 tests 2 days apart. This time delay adds to the challenge of ensuring available isolation beds.
Why Wait 8 Months for a COVID-19 Booster Shot?
US health officials unveiled a booster shot program this week that says that some people should get the shots 8 months after their last initial dose. Where did that number come from?
CDC Urges Vigilance: New Recommendations for Monitoring and Testing H5N1 Exposures
July 11th 2025With avian influenza A(H5N1) infections surfacing in both animals and humans, the CDC has issued updated guidance calling for aggressive monitoring and targeted testing to contain the virus and protect public health.
IP LifeLine: Layoffs and the Evolving Job Market Landscape for Infection Preventionists
July 11th 2025Infection preventionists, once hailed as indispensable during the pandemic, now face a sobering reality: budget pressures, hiring freezes, and layoffs are reshaping the field, leaving many IPs worried about their future and questioning their value within health care organizations.
A Helping Hand: Innovative Approaches to Expanding Hand Hygiene Programs in Acute Care Settings
July 9th 2025Who knew candy, UV lights, and a college kid in scrubs could double hand hygiene adherence? A Pennsylvania hospital’s creative shake-up of its infection prevention program shows that sometimes it takes more than soap to get hands clean—and keep them that way.
