CDC: Portable air cleaners cut exposure to COVID-19 virus by 65 percent
By
Alicia Lasek
Jul 06, 2021
In a simulated meeting with infected and uninfected participants, properly placed portable air cleaners with HEPA air filters slashed virus transmission. Adding masks was even more effective — cutting...
J&J vaccine effective against COVID Delta variant, drugmaker says
By
Alicia Lasek
Jul 06, 2021
Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot COVID-19 vaccine prompts a “strong neutralizing antibody response” that lasts at least eight months, the drugmaker has announced.
Diaries of infection preventionists offer peek into pandemic struggles
By
Alicia Lasek
Jul 06, 2021
Real-time reports from the height of the pandemic offer a glimpse into the highs and lows infection preventionists faced as they tackled unprecedented challenges.
Clinical briefs for Tuesday, July 6
By
Alicia Lasek
Jul 06, 2021
FluGen gets federal backing to study nasal spray H3N2 flu vaccine in older adults … Aspirin linked to 20% reduction in cancer deaths, large review suggests … Vanco-resistant Staph infections triple...
Clinical briefs for Friday, July 2
By
Alicia Lasek
Jul 02, 2021
Finalists for the 2021 McKnight’s Tech Awards named for Skilled Nursing, Senior Living and Home Care … Leaders expect more providers to follow suit after first Massachusetts operator enacts vaccine...
One quarter of Americans will experience ‘severe need’ for long-term care services: report
By
Alicia Lasek
Jul 02, 2021
About one fifth will require no services at all, a new analysis shows. But a sizable number will “experience the type of severe needs that most people dread,” the investigators say.
Feds revoke emergency use of some respirators, mask decontamination in healthcare settings
By
Alicia Lasek
Jul 02, 2021
Healthcare personnel are no longer authorized to use certain respirators not approved by NIOSH or technology for cleaning disposable masks, the FDA says.
Antigen tests just as effective as PCR in preventing COVID outbreaks, NIH study finds
By
Alicia Lasek
Jul 02, 2021
A “highly anticipated” study now shows that both testing approaches can give 98% sensitivity when used at least twice weekly in a screening program.
AMDA: Don’t prescribe Aduhelm to long-term care residents without more testing
By
Alicia Lasek
Jul 01, 2021
“It is our responsibility to resist the urge to prescribe a potentially dangerous and ineffective medication that is untested in our population, even if it has FDA approval,” the LTC physician’s...
Infection control experts throw support behind healthcare vaccine mandates
By
Alicia Lasek
Jul 01, 2021
Voluntary vaccination policies are not a sure path to herd immunity in healthcare facilities, APIC says. The infection control advocate has endorsed vaccine mandates as a condition of employment.