Weekly Rounds with Infection Control Today: Vaccines for Kids, Booster Shots for Elderly, Elimination Strategy
Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending August 27.
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.
COVID-19 Vaccines for Children 5–12 Might be Here By Fall
Vaccines for children 5–12 who seem to be more vulnerable to the delta variant than earlier iterations of COVID-19 might come in the fall. Good news, but vaccines alone—for all age groups—represent only one layer of mitigation, some experts argue.
COVID-19 Booster Shots Reportedly to Start at 6 Months
Officials originally said that the boosters would be available 8 months after the last dose, but they’ve changed that to 6. That should help older Americans. But what about children?
Viewpoint: Should US Adopt an Elimination Strategy Against COVID-19?
In Beijing the total cases in an outbreak were reported to be less than 10. China used over 100 million tests to eradicate what would be classified as a very small outbreak by US standards.
Vaccines Not as Effective Against Delta Variant, say CDC Data
CDC data cut to the heart of just how much protection COVID-19 vaccines offer infection preventionists (IPs) and other health care professionals on the frontlines from the delta variant.
Pediatric COVID-19 Cases Tick Up
Officials with the American Academy of Pediatrics stress that there’s no need for alarm but they do urge that more data be collected concerning children and COVID-19 infection, and they also note that there’s still no vaccine for youngsters 5–12.
APIC Salutes 2025 Trailblazers in Infection Prevention and Control
June 18th 2025From a lifelong mentor to a rising star, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) honored leaders across the career spectrum at its 2025 Annual Conference in Phoenix, recognizing individuals who enhance patient safety through research, leadership, and daily practice.
Building Infection Prevention Capacity in the Middle East: A 7-Year Certification Success Story
June 17th 2025Despite rapid development, the Middle East faces a critical shortage of certified infection preventionists. A 7-year regional initiative has significantly boosted infection control capacity, increasing the number of certified professionals and elevating patient safety standards across health care settings.
Streamlined IFU Access Boosts Infection Control and Staff Efficiency
June 17th 2025A hospital-wide quality improvement project has transformed how staff access critical manufacturer instructions for use (IFUs), improving infection prevention compliance and saving time through a standardized, user-friendly digital system supported by unit-based training and interdepartmental collaboration.
Swift Isolation Protocol Shields Chicago Children’s Hospital During 2024 Measles Surge
June 17th 2025When Chicago logged its first measles cases linked to crowded migrant shelters last spring, one pediatric hospital moved in hours—not days—to prevent the virus from crossing its threshold. Their playbook offers a ready template for the next communicable-disease crisis.
Back to Basics: Hospital Restores Catheter-Associated UTI Rates to Prepandemic Baseline
June 16th 2025A 758-bed quaternary medical center slashed catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) by 45% over 2 years, proving that disciplined adherence to fundamental prevention steps, not expensive add-ons, can reverse the pandemic-era spike in device-related harm.
