Infection Control

Few nurses or endoscopy technicians undergo formal training on infection control and reprocessing before joining endoscopy units, according to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control.

More than 90 percent of staff at Sacramento, Calif.-based UC Davis Medical Center have received at least their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, CBS News reported Feb. 18. 

How many healthcare workers have actually received vaccines since the vaccine rollout began in December?

Albany (N.Y.) Medical Center said it has closed its cancer unit to new admissions — and a limited number of staff are working on the unit — after three recent COVID-19 clusters there.

Infection preventionists cited the COVID-19 vaccines' quick market entry as the most common reason other healthcare workers have been hesitant to get vaccinated, according to a Feb. 10 survey from the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.

A patient who tested negative for COVID-19 twice in 24 hours is likely the source of Brigham and Women's Hospital COVID-19 outbreak involving more than 50 people last fall, researchers said in an analysis published Feb. 9 in Annals of…

Fremont (Calif.) Healthcare Center was fined $59,000 by California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health for not properly protecting its staff from COVID-19, reports Mercury News.

Five staff members at Rutland Regional Medical Center's inpatient medical oncology unit have tested positive for COVID-19, reports the Rutland Herald.

The reuse of personal protective equipment in healthcare settings amid COVID-19 likely allowed drug-resistant infections to spread easier, The New York Times reported Jan. 27. 

Hospitals must adopt rapid, frequent COVID-19 testing for staff to protect patients from hospital-acquired COVID-19, Manoj Jain, MD, an infectious disease consultant for several hospitals in Memphis, Tenn., wrote in a Jan. 21 op-ed published in The Washington Post.