Risk Factors Associated With SARS–CoV–2 Seropositivity Among US Health Care Personnel

Since coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was recognized in the United States in January 2020, the risk of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) attributed to exposures in the health care workplace has been studied with conflicting results.

IS IT COVID-19, COLD, OR FLU?

Similar symptoms mean you need to be dialed-in on safety protocols during the second wave of COVID-19.
Collecting and Using COVID-19 Screening and Symptom Data – Legal FAQs.

Collecting and Using COVID-19 Screening and Symptom Data – Legal FAQs.

These FAQs, prepared for the Infectious Disease Council by the international law firm, Seyfarth Shaw, provide concise and accurate guidance on what public health measures may be required, and the legal bases underlying those measures.
First, Consider the Deal Breakers

First, Consider the Deal Breakers

Published by: Inside Higher Ed
By mid-June, the overwhelming majority of colleges and universities in the United States had announced that they planned to have their students return to campus for the fall semester.
A Dry Run at a Socially Distanced Classroom

A Dry Run at a Socially Distanced Classroom

Published by: Inside Higher Ed
To prepare for the upcoming fall semester, faculty members in the School of Science at Siena College tested three scenarios for a socially distanced classroom based on published guidelines from the New York State Governor’s Office and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Debate begins over who's first in line for COVID-19 vaccine

Debate begins over who’s first in line for COVID-19 vaccine

Published by: Modern Healthcare
Who gets to be first in line for a COVID-19 vaccine? U.S. health authorities hope by late next month to have some draft guidance on how to ration initial doses, but it's a vexing decision.
Covid Tests and Quarantines: Colleges Brace for an Uncertain Fall

Colleges Brace for an Uncertain Fall

Published by: New York Times
Colleges are racing to reconfigure dorms, expand testing programs and establish detailed social distancing rules. And then, what to do about sex?

More Infections From an Online Semester?

Published by: Inside Higher Ed
Researchers at Cornell University have concluded an online semester at the university will result in more COVID-19 infections than an in-person one. The university is reopening, with plans to monitor students and moderate misbehavior.
Hand washing COVID-19

Washing your hands often is smart. Washing them correctly is even smarter.

One of the most effective ways to protect yourself and your co-workers is to wash your hands correctly.

Exploring the Legal Complexities of the Federal Vaccination Mandates

In September President Biden announced a new national strategy to combat COVID-19 that included vaccination directives affecting millions of US employees.  In designing these mandates the Biden Administration had to navigate complicated principles of federalism in order to legally extend the mandates to workers beyond those employed directly by the federal government. Through the 10th…

Will a COVID-19 vaccine booster be necessary?

The short answer is most likely yes, a COVID-19 vaccine booster will eventually be necessary. There are two reasons that a booster shot may be required. The first is that our body’s immune response, which is primed either from previous infection or from vaccination, may wane over time. A booster may be required to amplify…

Will we need a COVID-19 vaccine booster?

As of May 2021, more than 160 million Americans have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccines are shown to be highly effective in preventing infection in trials and in populations living in real–world conditions (Thompson et al. 2021). We do not yet know how long protection will last but recent…

Creating an Employee COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement: A Risk-Management Endeavor

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the estimated direct financial costs to U.S. businesses from employees who have suffered from COVID-19 have been staggering: $50.5 billion, including $10.7 billion in disability wage payments, $15.5 billion in sick leave wages, and $22.7 billion in employee benefits as of April 2021 (Integrated Benefits Institute). These projections…
African American man in antiviral mask gesturing thumb up during coronavirus vaccination, approving of covid-19 immunization. Young doctor giving vaccine injection to male patient

COVID-19 Vaccination: When Will the U.S. Reach Herd Immunity?

Three COVID-19 vaccines produced by Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson have all received emergency use authorization in the United States and a mass vaccination program is now underway. The vaccines are all very safe and effective, and as of the beginning of April 2021 more than 108 million people have received at least one…
Herd immunity of most people of population protecting all against virus concept visualized with geometrical hexagon grid background 3D rendering

How do we reach herd immunity?

Herd immunity is population–level protection against the spread of an infectious disease that is based on pre–existing immunity of a high proportion of individuals in that population, either from prior infection or vaccination. The idea of herd immunity also acknowledges the need to protect a small proportion of our population who cannot be vaccinated for…
A female medical student attending a school lecture raises her hand to ask a question. The multi-ethnic group of adult students is wearing medical scrubs and protective face masks to prevent viral infection during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Risk of Coronavirus Transmission in Classrooms, Clinical Settings, and the Community

Many colleges are reopening for in–person learning after major shutdowns during the spring and fall of 2020 to mitigate transmission of the novel coronavirus. Reopening is especially important for nursing education because there is already a substantial nurse shortage both in the United States and globally (Snavely 2016). An important question is whether nurses and…
Multi-ethnic group of students wearing protective face masks while sitting in a lecture hall sitting 2 meters apart.

Vaccine Requirements in Higher Education: Managing Vaccine Proof and Waivers

Most colleges and universities won’t be in a position to require all members of their communities to be vaccinated against COVID-19 until at least summer or fall of 2021. As of December 2020, vaccines are being made available under FDA Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs), and federal law requires that recipients of products permitted under EUAs…
Three young active friends jogging together with protective face masks on.

A Clear Path Forward Must Exist for Those Who Can Receive the COVID-19 Vaccine and Those Who Cannot

In December 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved two brands of the COVID-19 vaccine, produced by Pfizer and Moderna, for emergency use authorization. A third vaccine, made by Johnson and Johnson, received the same authorization in February 2021. With this authorization, and the ensuing nationwide vaccine rollout, millions of individuals across the nation…
Masking, Washing and Distancing are still critical while vaccines roll out

Masking, Washing and Distancing are Still Critical While Vaccines Roll Out

The CDC’s emergency use authorization of two COVID-19 vaccines in December 2020 marked a turning point in the pandemic. But that does not mean individuals should stop taking steps to prevent the spread of the virus. The CDC and other health officials recommend that all people, including individuals who have received the COVID-19 vaccine, continue…

Proof of Vaccination as a Passport to Goods and Services: Practice Tips for Businesses and Institutions

In the coming months, COVID-19 immunizations in the United States will extend beyond priority groups to the general population. Businesses, under increasing pressure to draw back clientele who have stayed away during the pandemic, may see requiring their customers to present proof of vaccination as a way to draw customers by guaranteeing a safe environment.…

An Insight from OADN’s CEO during the Pandemic

As the country has been faced with the Coronavirus Disease pandemic (COVID-19), the Organization for Associate Degree Nursing (OADN) has stood steadfast in support of all nurse educators, nurses, and the entire healthcare workforce as they care for the ill and vulnerable. Nurses are resilient, reliable, and proven responders during infectious disease emergencies, providing safe,…

Anticipating COVID-19 Vaccine: What Should Institutions of Higher Education and Employers Do Now?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has now issued Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) for two COVID-19 vaccines, with more in the pipeline. With this encouraging development, employers and institutions of higher education (IHEs) must prepare to grapple with whether they can require employees or students to be immunized as a condition of employment or…
Covid-19 Coronavirus Vaccine vials in a row macro close up

COVID-19 Vaccines: Important Considerations

The WHO declared the spread of the SARS coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV2) a public health emergency of global concern on January 30th, 2020. Since that time, the world has registered nearly than 57 million infections, with deaths surpassing 1.3 million[1]. Since this respiratory virus spreads from person to person through close contact, and without a vaccine or…
Corona virus and research

Benefits and Challenges of COVID-19 Vaccination

There has been very good news reported recently from ongoing Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trials. Two so–called mRNA vaccines COVID-19 vaccines have shown very high efficacies including one produced by Pfizer and another by Moderna. Pfizer reported an efficacy of 94.5% and Moderna 95%. Efficacy is measured by calculating the risk of a disease among…
Contact Tracing

The Elements of Successful Contact Tracing

Contact tracing is a public health strategy that, with active collaboration, produces positive results relative to infection control and spread. But the public’s preconceived notions about contact tracing are less positive. Fear of oversight and overreach, misunderstanding, apathy and pandemic fatigue are some of the feelings that many associate with it. This makes a deliberate…
Herd Immunity and Social Distancing

The Great Barrington Declaration – Is Herd Immunity really the answer to the pandemic?

Throughout much of the world, COVID-19 public health measures are being used to keep people separated to control community spread until vaccines and therapeutics become available. Should we end these practices now without a vaccine in hand, and push toward herd immunity? One such argument is being made via the Great Barrington Declaration, a short…
Group of nurses outside

The Employment Pipeline Must Keep Flowing to Protect the Future of Nursing

The adverse impact of COVID-19 on the country’s nursing workforce is continuing to emerge. As the global pandemic accelerated throughout March 2020, many hospitals canceled onsite training for nurses. While the rationale was to protect both students and patients from getting sick while also reserving PPE, which was in short supply, this also placed a…
Scientist doctor with mask and mobile technology virus infect detected 3D futuristic virtual reality hologram, COVID Coronavirus intelligence digital medical health care technology.

Why there is Urgency to Collect and Use COVID-19 Data Rapidly

Without an effective treatment or vaccine for COVID-19, we must isolate cases and quarantine people who have been in contact with cases quickly before they interact with other people. When someone is infected with the SARS CoV-2 virus they can spread it to susceptible people as soon as two days later. But how do we…
Protecting Teachers from COVID-19

Protecting Teachers from COVID-19

Across all socioeconomic and political lines, there is little dispute that teachers are, in fact, essential. They are pillars of our society and, through human expertise, create the foundation upon which all professions and trades may exist.  But until August, teachers in the United States were not considered essential workers. Now that they are, many…
Duty To Warn of COVID-19 Infections

Duty To Warn of COVID-19 Infections

Suppose you are a university president conducting a meeting in your office in late 2019. Your assistant interrupts with an urgent call from the chief of your campus police department. The chief tells you that a grad student has discovered a canister of what appears to be poisonous gas, connected to a detonator, in a…
Data Driven Decision Making

Data-Driven Decision-Making to Reopen College Campuses

College campuses are reopening throughout the United States with safeguards in place meant to limit transmission of SARS CoV-2, known as the novel coronavirus. It is important to minimize transmission because there are no highly effective drugs to treat COVID-19 and there is not yet an approved vaccine to prevent it. Safeguards include non-pharmaceutical interventions…
Essential Considerations for Contact Tracing

Essential Considerations for Contact Tracing

COVID-19 is altering traditional approaches to educating students and conducting research at colleges and universities across the U.S. As a large majority prepare to welcome students, faculty, and staff back to campus for the fall 2020 semester, a substantial investment of time and resources is required to secure their safety and well-being.  Legal duties, ethical…
Essential Considerations for Digital Contact Tracing

Essential Considerations for Digital Contact Tracing

COVID-19 is altering traditional approaches to educating students and conducting research at colleges and universities across the U.S. As a large majority prepare to welcome students, faculty, and staff back to campus for the fall 2020 semester, a substantial investment of time and resources is required to secure their safety and well-being.  Legal duties, ethical…
What is Pooled Testing and How Can It be Used to Test for COVID-19?

What is Pooled Testing and How Can It be Used to Test for COVID-19?

The practice of “pooled testing” may be a significant tool in the effort to test for COVID-19 infection within large groups of asymptomatic people. While testing every person may not be a practical reality due to the availability of resources, pooled testing allows more people to be tested with fewer test kits.  Pooled testing is…
Quarantine and Isolation—Legal Considerations for Colleges and Universities

Quarantine and Isolation—Legal Considerations for Colleges and Universities

Most colleges and universities have considerable experience in addressing outbreaks of highly contagious serious diseases among their students, such as meningitis or measles, through mandatory quarantine or isolation. But COVID-19 presents a public health challenge not seen in the United States in decades, and institutions of higher education (IHEs) planning to reopen their campuses during…
Screening Students and Staff for COVID

Screening Students and Staff for COVID-19 When Campuses Reopen: Key Legal Data Use and Security Considerations for Higher Education Institutions

Most U.S. colleges and universities plan to reopen their campuses, wholly or in part, for the Fall 2020 Semester. Screening returning students and employees for COVID-19 infection will be a necessary component of reopening campuses responsibly and safely. Such screening will certainly involve solicitation of confidential medical information and may include testing for the virus.…
Seasonal Influenza + COVID -19: What Healthcare Professionals Need to Address Now.

Seasonal Influenza + COVID -19: What Healthcare Professionals Need to Address Now.

In the first half of 2020, hospital leaders, physicians and other healthcare experts urgently mobilized their resources to meet the crisis of COVID-19. An even graver threat may lie just a few months away, however, if this year’s seasonal flu coincides with another wave of the pandemic. Hospitals across the nation have been brought to…
Accuracy and Interpretation of COVID-19 Tests.

Accuracy and Interpretation of COVID-19 Tests.

Two types of tests presently exist in relation to COVID-19. Diagnostic tests look for active infections while antibody tests look for previous infections with potential for immunity or resistance to future infections. Sensitivity and specificity data provide basic information about the accuracy of the testing, while positive and negative predictive values provide a means to…
What Tests Exist for COVID-19 and Who Should Receive Them?

What Tests Exist for COVID-19 and Who Should Receive Them?

Lab testing is an integral part of a broad system for managing the COVID-19 pandemic. Testing is required to confirm infection and to help guide our state and federal leaders in re-opening the economy and education systems. However, while technology has rapidly evolved, the benefits of widespread testing remain unclear, especially for people without symptoms.…
Underlying Health Conditions and Infection Prevention Measures

Underlying Health Conditions and Infection Prevention Measures.

Background On March 11, 2020, WHO declared the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2  (SARS-CoV-2) which causes the illness COVID-19, a pandemic. As of June 9, 2020, over 408,000 lives have been lost to the virus and over 112,000 were US deaths. Currently, there are over 1.9 million confirmed US cases.1 It is estimated that…
What exactly defines a fever?

What exactly defines a fever?

For the purposes of symptom screening, it is important to clearly establish what body temperature is considered abnormal and warrants further examination. While it is widely understood and accepted that a fever is a sign that the body is fighting infection or illness, there is no universal agreement among some state public health authorities of…
COVID-19 Threatens to Worsen Nursing Shortage

COVID-19 Threatens to Worsen Nursing Shortage.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced our hospitals to see anyone entering their premises — whether patient, visitor, or staff — as a potential vector of infection. Their response has been impressive. Each day brings expansion of virtual services and other creative ways to deliver care safely. However, even with rigorous adherence to pre-screening, screening, personal…
Quarantine and Isolation

Quarantine and Isolation

On March 11, 2020 the WHO declared the rapid transmission of the coronavirus disease, COVID-19, a pandemic. After initial serious outbreaks on the east (New York City) and the west (Seattle) coasts, the virus has since spread throughout the United States (US). Currently the country leads the world in infections diagnosed, 2,504,175, and deaths, 125,484 with daily infections now exceeding 40,000 cases.
Virtual Medicine

COVID 19: A Catalyst for Change in Health Care

It may seem too early to speak of silver linings, but it is easy to see how the changes forced on us by COVID-19 will make health care better. Crises accelerate history.   All involved in healthcare, from providers to patients, will leave this moment with a heightened sense of infectious disease, of the need for…
New Normal

Moving to a New Normal

As colleges and universities plan and prepare to reopen following the COVID-19 pandemic, each one is charting a path to a new normal and beginning to establish what this may look like. All institutions of higher education (IHEs) are navigating new ground. However, one of the most accurate things we can say about a “new…
Young Doctor

Infectious Disease Risk to Allied Health Students

Some of the most distinctive elements of campus culture include co-inhabited living spaces, packed classrooms, noisy dining halls and shared resources such as gyms, labs and equipment. Mundane campus activities begin to look different during the coronavirus pandemic and when considering the reopening of schools. Risk of exposure and transmission chains become larger when considering…
Internship

COVID-19: Risk to Student Interns

Students with internships are in a unique position because they are still engaged in distinctive elements of campus culture — including living in co-inhabited spaces, attending packed classrooms, and sharing resources such as gyms, labs and equipment — while also working in a professional setting. A distinctive element of student internships is working off campus,…
Nursing Student

COVID-19: Risk to Nursing Students

Nursing students participate in a number of activities that may increase risk of exposure to the novel coronavirus and transmission rates. Many of these risks are shared with teacher education students and student interns, however, nursing students also possess a set hazards that are particular to their course of study. Some of these differences include…
Panedmic

History and Background of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Overview Coronaviruses are a broad family of viruses that cause upper respiratory tract infections.1 This family of viruses includes SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and our current pandemic coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, among others. COVID-19 is the illness that SARS-CoV-2 causes. On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the novel coronavirus had reached the level of pandemic. WHO defines a…
Campus Risk

Novel Coronavirus and Higher Education: 10 Recommendations for Beginning a Risk Assessment

The novel coronavirus pandemic has disrupted process and routine for institutes of higher education (IHE). Courses have migrated online and schools are eager to know how they can preserve the health and safety of students, faculty and their wider communities. Without a vaccine or effective treatment, welcoming students back to campus poses public health risks.…
Education Student

COVID-19: Risk to Teacher Education Students

Students majoring in education engage in a series of distinctive teacher-education requirements that may increase risk of infectious disease exposure and transmission. Some of the differences between general education and teacher education activities include working in simulated learning environments, attending student teaching internships and coming into contact with students and faculty in a public-school setting.…

Work smart. Work safe. Work well.

View the most recent IDAC COVID-19 poster series for the workplace.

DR. GEORGE ASTRAKIANAKIS

International Pandemic InfectiousDisease Policy Expert

Read More
Articles
Donna Meyer

DONNA MEYER

CEO of the Organization for Associate Degree Nursing (OADN)

Read More
Articles
Dr. Michael E. Emch

DR. MICHAEL E. EMCH

W.R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Epidemiology and Geography at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC).

Read More
Articles
Douglas Grant

DR. DOUGLAS GRANT

Registrar & CEO of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia

Read More
Articles
Ben Miller

BEN MILLER

Former EVP and Chief Operating Officer at LabCorp Diagnostics

Read More
Articles
David Parker

DAVID PARKER

Former Interim Vice Chancellor and General Counsel for UNC–Chapel Hill

Read More
Articles
Jonathan Harber

JONATHAN HARBER

Chairman of StartEd EdTechAccelerator + Incubator

Read More
Articles

Exploring the Legal Complexities of the Federal Vaccination Mandates

In September President Biden announced a new national strategy to combat COVID-19 that included vaccination directives affecting millions of US employees.  In designing these mandates the Biden Administration had to navigate complicated principles of federalism in order to legally extend the mandates to workers beyond those employed directly by the federal government. Through the 10th...

Will a COVID-19 vaccine booster be necessary?

The short answer is most likely yes, a COVID-19 vaccine booster will eventually be necessary. There are two reasons that a booster shot may be required. The first is that our body’s immune response, which is primed either from previous infection or from vaccination, may wane over time. A booster may be required to amplify...

Will we need a COVID-19 vaccine booster?

As of May 2021, more than 160 million Americans have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccines are shown to be highly effective in preventing infection in trials and in populations living in real–world conditions (Thompson et al. 2021). We do not yet know how long protection will last but recent...

Creating an Employee COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement: A Risk-Management Endeavor

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the estimated direct financial costs to U.S. businesses from employees who have suffered from COVID-19 have been staggering: $50.5 billion, including $10.7 billion in disability wage payments, $15.5 billion in sick leave wages, and $22.7 billion in employee benefits as of April 2021 (Integrated Benefits Institute). These projections...
African American man in antiviral mask gesturing thumb up during coronavirus vaccination, approving of covid-19 immunization. Young doctor giving vaccine injection to male patient

COVID-19 Vaccination: When Will the U.S. Reach Herd Immunity?

Three COVID-19 vaccines produced by Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson have all received emergency use authorization in the United States and a mass vaccination program is now underway. The vaccines are all very safe and effective, and as of the beginning of April 2021 more than 108 million people have received at least one...
Herd immunity of most people of population protecting all against virus concept visualized with geometrical hexagon grid background 3D rendering

How do we reach herd immunity?

Herd immunity is population–level protection against the spread of an infectious disease that is based on pre–existing immunity of a high proportion of individuals in that population, either from prior infection or vaccination. The idea of herd immunity also acknowledges the need to protect a small proportion of our population who cannot be vaccinated for...
A female medical student attending a school lecture raises her hand to ask a question. The multi-ethnic group of adult students is wearing medical scrubs and protective face masks to prevent viral infection during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Risk of Coronavirus Transmission in Classrooms, Clinical Settings, and the Community

Many colleges are reopening for in–person learning after major shutdowns during the spring and fall of 2020 to mitigate transmission of the novel coronavirus. Reopening is especially important for nursing education because there is already a substantial nurse shortage both in the United States and globally (Snavely 2016). An important question is whether nurses and...
Multi-ethnic group of students wearing protective face masks while sitting in a lecture hall sitting 2 meters apart.

Vaccine Requirements in Higher Education: Managing Vaccine Proof and Waivers

Most colleges and universities won’t be in a position to require all members of their communities to be vaccinated against COVID-19 until at least summer or fall of 2021. As of December 2020, vaccines are being made available under FDA Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs), and federal law requires that recipients of products permitted under EUAs...

Risk Factors Associated With SARS–CoV–2 Seropositivity Among US Health Care Personnel

Since coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was recognized in the United States in January 2020, the risk of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) attributed to exposures in the health care workplace has been studied with conflicting results.
Three young active friends jogging together with protective face masks on.

A Clear Path Forward Must Exist for Those Who Can Receive the COVID-19 Vaccine and Those Who Cannot

In December 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved two brands of the COVID-19 vaccine, produced by Pfizer and Moderna, for emergency use authorization. A third vaccine, made by Johnson and Johnson, received the same authorization in February 2021. With this authorization, and the ensuing nationwide vaccine rollout, millions of individuals across the nation...
Masking, Washing and Distancing are still critical while vaccines roll out

Masking, Washing and Distancing are Still Critical While Vaccines Roll Out

The CDC’s emergency use authorization of two COVID-19 vaccines in December 2020 marked a turning point in the pandemic. But that does not mean individuals should stop taking steps to prevent the spread of the virus. The CDC and other health officials recommend that all people, including individuals who have received the COVID-19 vaccine, continue...

Proof of Vaccination as a Passport to Goods and Services: Practice Tips for Businesses and Institutions

In the coming months, COVID-19 immunizations in the United States will extend beyond priority groups to the general population. Businesses, under increasing pressure to draw back clientele who have stayed away during the pandemic, may see requiring their customers to present proof of vaccination as a way to draw customers by guaranteeing a safe environment....

An Insight from OADN’s CEO during the Pandemic

As the country has been faced with the Coronavirus Disease pandemic (COVID-19), the Organization for Associate Degree Nursing (OADN) has stood steadfast in support of all nurse educators, nurses, and the entire healthcare workforce as they care for the ill and vulnerable. Nurses are resilient, reliable, and proven responders during infectious disease emergencies, providing safe,...

Anticipating COVID-19 Vaccine: What Should Institutions of Higher Education and Employers Do Now?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has now issued Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) for two COVID-19 vaccines, with more in the pipeline. With this encouraging development, employers and institutions of higher education (IHEs) must prepare to grapple with whether they can require employees or students to be immunized as a condition of employment or...
Covid-19 Coronavirus Vaccine vials in a row macro close up

COVID-19 Vaccines: Important Considerations

The WHO declared the spread of the SARS coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV2) a public health emergency of global concern on January 30th, 2020. Since that time, the world has registered nearly than 57 million infections, with deaths surpassing 1.3 million[1]. Since this respiratory virus spreads from person to person through close contact, and without a vaccine or...
Corona virus and research

Benefits and Challenges of COVID-19 Vaccination

There has been very good news reported recently from ongoing Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trials. Two so–called mRNA vaccines COVID-19 vaccines have shown very high efficacies including one produced by Pfizer and another by Moderna. Pfizer reported an efficacy of 94.5% and Moderna 95%. Efficacy is measured by calculating the risk of a disease among...
Contact Tracing

The Elements of Successful Contact Tracing

Contact tracing is a public health strategy that, with active collaboration, produces positive results relative to infection control and spread. But the public’s preconceived notions about contact tracing are less positive. Fear of oversight and overreach, misunderstanding, apathy and pandemic fatigue are some of the feelings that many associate with it. This makes a deliberate...
Herd Immunity and Social Distancing

The Great Barrington Declaration – Is Herd Immunity really the answer to the pandemic?

Throughout much of the world, COVID-19 public health measures are being used to keep people separated to control community spread until vaccines and therapeutics become available. Should we end these practices now without a vaccine in hand, and push toward herd immunity? One such argument is being made via the Great Barrington Declaration, a short...
Group of nurses outside

The Employment Pipeline Must Keep Flowing to Protect the Future of Nursing

The adverse impact of COVID-19 on the country’s nursing workforce is continuing to emerge. As the global pandemic accelerated throughout March 2020, many hospitals canceled onsite training for nurses. While the rationale was to protect both students and patients from getting sick while also reserving PPE, which was in short supply, this also placed a...
Scientist doctor with mask and mobile technology virus infect detected 3D futuristic virtual reality hologram, COVID Coronavirus intelligence digital medical health care technology.

Why there is Urgency to Collect and Use COVID-19 Data Rapidly

Without an effective treatment or vaccine for COVID-19, we must isolate cases and quarantine people who have been in contact with cases quickly before they interact with other people. When someone is infected with the SARS CoV-2 virus they can spread it to susceptible people as soon as two days later. But how do we...

IS IT COVID-19, COLD, OR FLU?

Similar symptoms mean you need to be dialed-in on safety protocols during the second wave of COVID-19.
Protecting Teachers from COVID-19

Protecting Teachers from COVID-19

Across all socioeconomic and political lines, there is little dispute that teachers are, in fact, essential. They are pillars of our society and, through human expertise, create the foundation upon which all professions and trades may exist.  But until August, teachers in the United States were not considered essential workers. Now that they are, many...
Collecting and Using COVID-19 Screening and Symptom Data – Legal FAQs.

Collecting and Using COVID-19 Screening and Symptom Data – Legal FAQs.

These FAQs, prepared for the Infectious Disease Council by the international law firm, Seyfarth Shaw, provide concise and accurate guidance on what public health measures may be required, and the legal bases underlying those measures.
Duty To Warn of COVID-19 Infections

Duty To Warn of COVID-19 Infections

Suppose you are a university president conducting a meeting in your office in late 2019. Your assistant interrupts with an urgent call from the chief of your campus police department. The chief tells you that a grad student has discovered a canister of what appears to be poisonous gas, connected to a detonator, in a...
Data Driven Decision Making

Data-Driven Decision-Making to Reopen College Campuses

College campuses are reopening throughout the United States with safeguards in place meant to limit transmission of SARS CoV-2, known as the novel coronavirus. It is important to minimize transmission because there are no highly effective drugs to treat COVID-19 and there is not yet an approved vaccine to prevent it. Safeguards include non-pharmaceutical interventions...
First, Consider the Deal Breakers

First, Consider the Deal Breakers

Published by: Inside Higher Ed
By mid-June, the overwhelming majority of colleges and universities in the United States had announced that they planned to have their students return to campus for the fall semester.
A Dry Run at a Socially Distanced Classroom

A Dry Run at a Socially Distanced Classroom

Published by: Inside Higher Ed
To prepare for the upcoming fall semester, faculty members in the School of Science at Siena College tested three scenarios for a socially distanced classroom based on published guidelines from the New York State Governor’s Office and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Debate begins over who's first in line for COVID-19 vaccine

Debate begins over who’s first in line for COVID-19 vaccine

Published by: Modern Healthcare
Who gets to be first in line for a COVID-19 vaccine? U.S. health authorities hope by late next month to have some draft guidance on how to ration initial doses, but it's a vexing decision.
Covid Tests and Quarantines: Colleges Brace for an Uncertain Fall

Colleges Brace for an Uncertain Fall

Published by: New York Times
Colleges are racing to reconfigure dorms, expand testing programs and establish detailed social distancing rules. And then, what to do about sex?
Essential Considerations for Contact Tracing

Essential Considerations for Contact Tracing

COVID-19 is altering traditional approaches to educating students and conducting research at colleges and universities across the U.S. As a large majority prepare to welcome students, faculty, and staff back to campus for the fall 2020 semester, a substantial investment of time and resources is required to secure their safety and well-being.  Legal duties, ethical...
Essential Considerations for Digital Contact Tracing

Essential Considerations for Digital Contact Tracing

COVID-19 is altering traditional approaches to educating students and conducting research at colleges and universities across the U.S. As a large majority prepare to welcome students, faculty, and staff back to campus for the fall 2020 semester, a substantial investment of time and resources is required to secure their safety and well-being.  Legal duties, ethical...
What is Pooled Testing and How Can It be Used to Test for COVID-19?

What is Pooled Testing and How Can It be Used to Test for COVID-19?

The practice of “pooled testing” may be a significant tool in the effort to test for COVID-19 infection within large groups of asymptomatic people. While testing every person may not be a practical reality due to the availability of resources, pooled testing allows more people to be tested with fewer test kits.  Pooled testing is...
Quarantine and Isolation—Legal Considerations for Colleges and Universities

Quarantine and Isolation—Legal Considerations for Colleges and Universities

Most colleges and universities have considerable experience in addressing outbreaks of highly contagious serious diseases among their students, such as meningitis or measles, through mandatory quarantine or isolation. But COVID-19 presents a public health challenge not seen in the United States in decades, and institutions of higher education (IHEs) planning to reopen their campuses during...
Screening Students and Staff for COVID

Screening Students and Staff for COVID-19 When Campuses Reopen: Key Legal Data Use and Security Considerations for Higher Education Institutions

Most U.S. colleges and universities plan to reopen their campuses, wholly or in part, for the Fall 2020 Semester. Screening returning students and employees for COVID-19 infection will be a necessary component of reopening campuses responsibly and safely. Such screening will certainly involve solicitation of confidential medical information and may include testing for the virus....
Seasonal Influenza + COVID -19: What Healthcare Professionals Need to Address Now.

Seasonal Influenza + COVID -19: What Healthcare Professionals Need to Address Now.

In the first half of 2020, hospital leaders, physicians and other healthcare experts urgently mobilized their resources to meet the crisis of COVID-19. An even graver threat may lie just a few months away, however, if this year’s seasonal flu coincides with another wave of the pandemic. Hospitals across the nation have been brought to...
Accuracy and Interpretation of COVID-19 Tests.

Accuracy and Interpretation of COVID-19 Tests.

Two types of tests presently exist in relation to COVID-19. Diagnostic tests look for active infections while antibody tests look for previous infections with potential for immunity or resistance to future infections. Sensitivity and specificity data provide basic information about the accuracy of the testing, while positive and negative predictive values provide a means to...
What Tests Exist for COVID-19 and Who Should Receive Them?

What Tests Exist for COVID-19 and Who Should Receive Them?

Lab testing is an integral part of a broad system for managing the COVID-19 pandemic. Testing is required to confirm infection and to help guide our state and federal leaders in re-opening the economy and education systems. However, while technology has rapidly evolved, the benefits of widespread testing remain unclear, especially for people without symptoms....
Underlying Health Conditions and Infection Prevention Measures

Underlying Health Conditions and Infection Prevention Measures.

Background On March 11, 2020, WHO declared the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2  (SARS-CoV-2) which causes the illness COVID-19, a pandemic. As of June 9, 2020, over 408,000 lives have been lost to the virus and over 112,000 were US deaths. Currently, there are over 1.9 million confirmed US cases.1 It is estimated that...
What exactly defines a fever?

What exactly defines a fever?

For the purposes of symptom screening, it is important to clearly establish what body temperature is considered abnormal and warrants further examination. While it is widely understood and accepted that a fever is a sign that the body is fighting infection or illness, there is no universal agreement among some state public health authorities of...
COVID-19 Threatens to Worsen Nursing Shortage

COVID-19 Threatens to Worsen Nursing Shortage.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced our hospitals to see anyone entering their premises — whether patient, visitor, or staff — as a potential vector of infection. Their response has been impressive. Each day brings expansion of virtual services and other creative ways to deliver care safely. However, even with rigorous adherence to pre-screening, screening, personal...

More Infections From an Online Semester?

Published by: Inside Higher Ed
Researchers at Cornell University have concluded an online semester at the university will result in more COVID-19 infections than an in-person one. The university is reopening, with plans to monitor students and moderate misbehavior.
Quarantine and Isolation

Quarantine and Isolation

On March 11, 2020 the WHO declared the rapid transmission of the coronavirus disease, COVID-19, a pandemic. After initial serious outbreaks on the east (New York City) and the west (Seattle) coasts, the virus has since spread throughout the United States (US). Currently the country leads the world in infections diagnosed, 2,504,175, and deaths, 125,484 with daily infections now exceeding 40,000 cases.
Virtual Medicine

COVID 19: A Catalyst for Change in Health Care

It may seem too early to speak of silver linings, but it is easy to see how the changes forced on us by COVID-19 will make health care better. Crises accelerate history.   All involved in healthcare, from providers to patients, will leave this moment with a heightened sense of infectious disease, of the need for...
New Normal

Moving to a New Normal

As colleges and universities plan and prepare to reopen following the COVID-19 pandemic, each one is charting a path to a new normal and beginning to establish what this may look like. All institutions of higher education (IHEs) are navigating new ground. However, one of the most accurate things we can say about a “new...
Young Doctor

Infectious Disease Risk to Allied Health Students

Some of the most distinctive elements of campus culture include co-inhabited living spaces, packed classrooms, noisy dining halls and shared resources such as gyms, labs and equipment. Mundane campus activities begin to look different during the coronavirus pandemic and when considering the reopening of schools. Risk of exposure and transmission chains become larger when considering...
Internship

COVID-19: Risk to Student Interns

Students with internships are in a unique position because they are still engaged in distinctive elements of campus culture — including living in co-inhabited spaces, attending packed classrooms, and sharing resources such as gyms, labs and equipment — while also working in a professional setting. A distinctive element of student internships is working off campus,...
Nursing Student

COVID-19: Risk to Nursing Students

Nursing students participate in a number of activities that may increase risk of exposure to the novel coronavirus and transmission rates. Many of these risks are shared with teacher education students and student interns, however, nursing students also possess a set hazards that are particular to their course of study. Some of these differences include...
Panedmic

History and Background of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Overview Coronaviruses are a broad family of viruses that cause upper respiratory tract infections.1 This family of viruses includes SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and our current pandemic coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, among others. COVID-19 is the illness that SARS-CoV-2 causes. On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the novel coronavirus had reached the level of pandemic. WHO defines a...
Campus Risk

Novel Coronavirus and Higher Education: 10 Recommendations for Beginning a Risk Assessment

The novel coronavirus pandemic has disrupted process and routine for institutes of higher education (IHE). Courses have migrated online and schools are eager to know how they can preserve the health and safety of students, faculty and their wider communities. Without a vaccine or effective treatment, welcoming students back to campus poses public health risks....
Education Student

COVID-19: Risk to Teacher Education Students

Students majoring in education engage in a series of distinctive teacher-education requirements that may increase risk of infectious disease exposure and transmission. Some of the differences between general education and teacher education activities include working in simulated learning environments, attending student teaching internships and coming into contact with students and faculty in a public-school setting....

Work smart. Work safe. Work well.

View the most recent IDAC COVID-19 poster series for the workplace.
Hand washing COVID-19

Washing your hands often is smart. Washing them correctly is even smarter.

One of the most effective ways to protect yourself and your co-workers is to wash your hands correctly.