On Monday, December 14th, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention held a webinar to provide education about the new COVID-19 vaccine. Safety monitoring is a top priority of the CDC, and the webinar largely focused on their post-authorization/post-licensure safety monitoring of the vaccine. They provided a great explanation of why this safety monitoring matters, and advocated the use of …
Health Care Personnel (HCP) are at increased risk for COVID-19 from workplace exposures. A report published by the CDC revealed that among 21,406 Minnesota SARS-CoV-2 HCP exposures, 5,374 (25%) were higher-risk (within 6 feet ≥15 minutes, or during an aerosol-generating procedure); exposures involved patient care (66%) and non-patient contacts (34%). Compared with HCP working in acute care settings, those working …
A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published November 24 2020, shows that most of the U.S. population may still be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The study focuses on CDC’s collaboration with commercial laboratories to conduct and publish results from large-scale geographic seroprevalence surveys to estimate the percentage of people in …
Updates to the list of underlying medical conditions that put adults of any age at increased risk for severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19 were based on published reports, articles in the press, unreviewed preprints, and internal data available between December 1, 2019, and October 16, 2020*. The list of evidence for each condition was determined by CDC …
The CDC has developed two laboratory tests that identify SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The newer of these tests also test for influenza A and B viruses. Testing for all three viruses at the same time will provide public health officials with the information they need to help reduce the spread of these viruses in the community while conserving …
On October 20, 2020, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published an early release of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. As of October 15, 216,025 deaths from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been reported in the United States; however, this might underestimate the total impact of the pandemic on mortality. Overall, an estimated 299,028 excess deaths* occurred …
How CDC Is Making COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations CDC is making coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination recommendations for the United States based on input from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). ACIP is a federal advisory committee made up of medical and public health experts who develop recommendations on the use of vaccines in the U.S. public. ACIP holds regular …
Handwashing is one of the best ways to protect yourself and your family from getting sick. Learn when and how you should wash your hands to stay healthy! CDC Guidance: Five Steps to Wash Your Hands the Right Way Washing your hands is easy and it is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of germs. Clean …
In the United States, there is not yet an authorized or approved vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The federal government, through Operation Warp Speed, has been working since the pandemic started to make one or more COVID-19 vaccines available as soon as possible. Although the CDC does not have a role in developing COVID-19 vaccines, CDC has been …
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its recommendations for likely person-to-person spread of SARS-CoV-2 to warn about the risk of multiple, brief, “close contact” encounters with others who are positive for COVID-19. New data suggest each close encounter, coming within 6 feet of an infected person, can increase the risk for transmission. Previously, the CDC cautioned against …
