Hospital Infection Control & Prevention – February 1, 2022
February 1, 2022
View Issues
-
Unvaccinated Patients Dying from ‘Less Severe’ Omicron
The emerging narrative of the omicron variant of COVID-19 being less severe — and possibly signaling a transition to an endemic phase of the pandemic — is of little solace to patients dying of the virus daily.
-
Supreme Court Upholds Healthcare Vaccine Mandate
Hospitals still struggling to fully vaccinate workers received good news on Jan. 13 when the Supreme Court ruled the federal government can enforce its mandate that healthcare workers receive COVID-19 vaccine unless granted medical or religious exemptions. But the court effectively nullified the federal mandate that employers with at least 100 workers mandate COVID-19 vaccination or weekly testing.
-
Sick Healthcare Workers Worsen Shortage, May Spike Healthcare-Associated Infections
The COVID-19 omicron variant, known to cause breakthrough infections in those fully vaccinated and boosted, is infecting and furloughing healthcare workers even as hospitals face a towering wave of incoming patients.
-
The Ethical and Pandemic Problem with Boosters
COVID-19 booster shots are highly controversial from a global perspective. Similar to other industrialized nations, 75% of the people in United States have taken at least one dose, 63% are fully vaccinated, and 25% have received the booster. Yet, more than 30 countries worldwide have vaccinated less than 10% of their population.
-
Vaccines Saved 1 Million Lives in 2021
COVID-19 vaccines prevented an estimated 1 million deaths and 10 million hospitalizations in the United States in 2021, according to a new modeling study by the Commonwealth Fund.