Becker's Hospital Review

144 CMO / CARE DELIVERY How the pandemic is affecting HAI rates: 5 things to know By Mackenzie Bean E arly data from two hospitals in New York City and St. Louis suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic will cause an uptick in some health- care-associated infections, researchers wrote in a commentary published in the American Journal of Infection Control. Five things to know: 1. CMS suspended HAI reporting requirements through June, allowing infection preventionists to shift their focus to COVID-19 emergency re- sponse activities. As a result, these leaders have spent less time on HAI surveillance and prevention efforts, researchers said. 2. While it is still too early to fully assess how this shift will influence HAI incidence at hospitals nationwide, researchers noted large jumps in some infections at Mount Sinai Morningside in New York City and Chris- tian Hospital in St. Louis. 3. Mount Sinai Morningside saw a 420 percent increase in central line-as- sociated bloodstream infection rates during the pandemic compared to the prior 15 months, while Christian Hospital reported a 324 percent jump. COVID-19 patients are at higher risk of CLABSI, so researchers said they expect this rate to rise the most of all HAIs amid the pandemic. 4. Researchers also suggested that catheter-associated urinary tract infection rates could increase, though data from Mount Sinai Morning- side and Christian Hospital show smaller jumps in these infections than CLABSI rates. 5. Mount Sinai Morningside and Christian Hospital reported a small de- crease in Clostridium difficile infections (52 percent and 45 percent, re- spectively), possibly due to a heightened focus on environmental clean- ing, study authors said. n CDC shares flu shot recommendations for 2020-21 season By Mackenzie Bean T he CDC's Advisory Committee on Im- munization Practices shared updated flu vaccine recommendations for the 2020-21 season in its Morbidity and Mortal- ity Weekly Report published Aug. 21. The committee still recommends health- care providers offer flu shots to everyone 6 months and older with no contraindications by the end of October. Inactivated, recombinant and live attenuat- ed flu vaccines will be available this season. This year's flu shot composition includes updates to the following strains: • Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 • Influenza A(H3N2) • Influenza B/Victoria lineage components The recommendations also include infor- mation on two new vaccines designed to achieve a stronger immune response in people 65 and over. n COVID-19 could derail decades of progress against tuberculosis, HIV and malaria By Mackenzie Bean T he COVID-19 pandemic is complicat- ing global efforts to diagnose and treat such infectious diseases as tubercu- losis, malaria and HIV, which could under- mine years of progress, health experts told e New York Times. e Times spoke with more than 24 pub- lic health officials, patients and physicians worldwide, who said COVID-19 lockdowns have prevented many people in Africa, Asia and Latin America from traveling to get di- agnosed with these infectious diseases or receive necessary treatments. Travel restric- tions have also limited shipments of drugs to hard-hit regions. Globally, the pandemic has disrupted ser- vices for about 80 percent of HIV, malaria and tuberculosis programs, according to a survey from e Global Fund. India, which comprises 27 percent of global tuberculosis cases, has reported a nearly 75 percent drop in new diagnoses since the pandemic started. A three-month lockdown and 10-month gradual return to normal could cause an ad- ditional 6.3 million tuberculosis cases global- ly and 1.4 million deaths this year, according to one estimate cited by the Times. If current trends continue, some health ex- perts warn that the world could lose years or even decades of progress fighting tuberculo- sis, malaria and HIV. "COVID-19 risks derailing all our efforts and taking us back to where we were 20 years ago," Pedro L. Alonso, MD, PhD, director of the World Health Organization's global ma- laria program, told the Times. ese obstacles are spurring some changes to infectious disease treatment and manage- ment. For example, more providers are using video and phone calls to connect with pa- tients, instead of having them travel long dis- tances to clinics. Some governments are also considering buying HIV treatments in bulk to give patients several months' worth of the medication, a move that aid groups have long recommended. n

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