Weekly Rounds with Infection Control Today: Vaccine Mandates, Importance of Airflow

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.

College Guidance Counseling: Get the COVID-19 Vaccine

One junior at New Jersey’s Rutgers University, the first to mandate COVID-19 vaccination, said, “I’m not antivax, I’m anti-mandate. My education should not be restricted based on my personal decision to receive the COVID-19 vaccination.”

Let Airflow Show Pathogens the Door (or Window or Vent)

An integrated air management system requires proper engineering and not a pile-up approach of unproven products. One concern is that decision makers will fall into the nearsighted trap of selecting piecemeal products that require frequent maintenance.

Health Care Workers: Get the COVID-19 Vaccine Now

Paul Sax, MD: “It’s almost inevitable that even though we’re at very low infection rates right now that that's going to increase when the season changes, again, in the fall and winter. Coronaviruses are seasonal.”

COVID-19 May Have Hit the U.S. Earlier Than Previously Thought

The first official case may have been recorded January 20, 2020, but recent evidence suggests that COVID came home for the holidays in the U.S. in mid-December of that year.

If the Mask Doesn’t Fit, COVID-19 Will Hit

The most poorly fitting mask can almost double the risk of infection for the wearers and even those around them.