Infection Control

Clinicians have accused Albuquerque, N.M.-based Lovelace Women's Hospital of racial profiling, saying a policy designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is unfairly targeting Native American women, according to an investigative report from ProPublica and New Mexico In Depth.

An internal Federal Emergency Management Agency document shows that the U.S. government's supply of surgical gowns and masks has not meaningfully increased, as reported by Roll Call.

About 208 million Americans are living in counties with no or very few infectious disease physicians, and many of these areas have been hit hardest by COVID-19, according to a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Nurses and other front-line clinicians are raising concerns about a decontamination system used to disinfect N95 masks amid the pandemic, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

Electrocardiography cables and lead wires are a critical component of monitoring patients in healthcare settings, but are often inadequately cleaned, which is a significant contributor to surgical-site infections, according to the American Journal of Infection Control. 

The COVID-19 pandemic is ushering in a more infection-conscious era, with terms such as "personal protective equipment," "virus" and "infection" entering the common vernacular.

Working closely with COVID-19 patients may not be the primary cause of coronavirus infection among healthcare workers, two new studies from China and the Netherlands found.

Stagnant water systems in commercial buildings temporarily closed during the pandemic may put employees at risk of waterborne-infections like Legionnaires' disease, according to The New York Times.

Two new studies of monkeys offer evidence that having COVID-19 antibodies may offer immunity from reinfection.

The novel coronavirus "does not spread easily" on surfaces or objects, according to the CDC's updated website page.