Summary of Recent Changes Updates as of April 27, 2021 Updated SARS-CoV-2 testing recommendations Updated visitation guidance to include recommendations for acute care facilities and to describe circumstances when source control and physical distancing are not required during visitation Added guidance for communal activities and dining in healthcare settings Key Points CDC has updated select healthcare infection prevention and control …
On April 22nd, the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services (MDHHS) shared guidance and forms for submitting confirmatory Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) COVID tests to the Michigan Bureau of Labs (BOL). To support ongoing testing in long term care facilities, the BOL is offering the option for providers to utilize their service for confirmatory PCR tests. The BOL will run the …
Press release from the CDC March 29, 2021: A new CDC study provides strong evidence that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infections in real-world conditions among health care personnel, first responders, and other essential workers. These groups are more likely than the general population to be exposed to the virus because of their occupations. The study …
Although airborne transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been recognized, the condition of ventilation for its occurrence is still being debated. A study was published in Science Direct that identified that although droplet spread is the most common way to contract COVID-19, airborne spread is also a risk in poorly ventilated spaces. The research team analyzed …
The vast majority of people in the US have been vaccinated with one of the mRNA vaccines, made by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, which both had around 95% efficacy in Phase III clinical trials. Less than 5% of vaccinated people in the US have received the Johnson & Johnson adenovirus-based vaccine, which had a slightly lower efficacy of 72% in the …
Osteoporosis is the most common bone disease and is characterized by weakening of bone tissue, bone structure, and strength, and may lead to increased risk of fractures. Low bone mass increases the risk of developing osteoporosis. In the United States in 2010, an estimated 10.2 million people aged 50 and over had osteoporosis and about 43.3 million more people had …
Since COVID-19 was recognized in the United States in January 2020, the risk of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) attributed to exposures in the health care workplace has been studied with conflicting results. It remains unclear whether certain job functions or specific workplace activities, including care for individuals with known and unknown SARS-CoV-2 positivity, increase the …
High-risk medications pose serious safety risks to older adults, including increasing the risk of falls. Deprescribing potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) in older adults who have experienced a fall is a key element of fall reduction strategies. However, continued use of PIMs in older adults is common, and clinicians may face substantial deprescribing barriers. A study published on pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov was conducted …
In a 12-month investigation conducted by The Guardian and Kaiser Health “Lost on the Frontline,” it was identified that 3,600 U.S. health care workers perished in the first year of the pandemic. Lost on the Frontline is the most complete accounting of U.S. health care worker deaths. The Federal government has not comprehensively tracked this data, but calls are mounting …
The prevalence of nutrition-sensitive conditions such as obesity and type 2 diabetes has increased substantially in the US during the past 30 years. For decades, US policies to address hunger and food insecurity have focused largely on providing sufficient calories or quantities of food. However, effectively addressing the current diet-related challenges in the US will require a shift beyond these …
