Weekly Rounds with Infection Control Today: Encourage COVID Boosters, Doing Hand Hygiene Right, Stop Candida auris
Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending October 29.
Here are 5 highlights from ICT®’s wide-ranging coverage of the infection prevention and control world. Everything from interviews with known opinion leaders, to the news that infection preventionists and other health care professionals can use on their jobs.
COVID-19 Boosters Need to be Encouraged
The term “mild COVID-19” is an oxymoron. The devastating long-term effects of long COVID, along with future emergence of cardiovascular disease in those with minimal initial symptoms, reminds us that all SARS-CoV-2 infections may pose grave dangers to those who contract the virus.
Air Sampling Detects COVID-19 Spread in Dormitories
Compared to cases confirmed by human clinical testing, the air sampling used in the college dorms in the study had a success rate of 75%–100% in detecting infection by SARS-CoV-2.
Hand Hygiene Involves More Than Just a Checklist
Infection preventionists have been measuring hand hygiene with very little change in practice or retention of proper practice. Now is the time to think of new ways to improve hand hygiene and patient outcomes.
Strategies for Mitigating Spread of Candida auris
One of the most disturbing features of C auris is that, in its relatively short life, it has rapidly developed resistance to the few available treatment options.
COVID-19: Numbers Look Good, but Keep Guard Up
As of today, the outlook is very good and the pandemic is on a trajectory of burning out, but there are valid concerns which require that we continue our vigilance and public health strategies.
How Contaminated Is Your Stretcher? The Hidden Risks on Hospital Wheels
July 3rd 2025Despite routine disinfection, hospital surfaces, such as stretchers, remain reservoirs for harmful microbes, according to several recent studies. From high-touch areas to damaged mattresses and the effectiveness of antimicrobial coatings, researchers continue to uncover persistent risks in environmental hygiene, highlighting the critical need for innovative, continuous disinfection strategies in health care settings.
Beyond the Surface: Rethinking Environmental Hygiene Validation at Exchange25
June 30th 2025Environmental hygiene is about more than just shiny surfaces. At Exchange25, infection prevention experts urged the field to look deeper, rethink blame, and validate cleaning efforts across the entire care environment, not just EVS tasks.
A Controversial Reboot: New Vaccine Panel Faces Scrutiny, Support, and Sharp Divides
June 26th 2025As the newly appointed Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met for the first time under sweeping changes by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the national spotlight turned to the panel’s legitimacy, vaccine guidance, and whether science or ideology would steer public health policy in a polarized era.
