Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

13 INFECTION CONTROL Mass General's mask policy linked to fewer employee COVID-19 infections By Mackenzie Bean U niversal masking policies may be linked to significant decreases in COVID-19 transmission in hospital set- tings, a study published in JAMA Network Open found. Researchers examined EHR data to assess the COVID-19 test positivity rate among healthcare workers at Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital before and after the hospital implemented a mandatory mask policy for staff and patients. The health system tested 9,850 employees between March 1 and April 30, 12.9 percent of whom tested positive for COVID-19. Before implementing the mask policy, the COVID-19 posi- tivity rate "increased exponentially" from 0 percent to 21.3 percent between March 1 and March 24, researchers found. During the intervention period (April 11-30) when the mask policy was in effect, the positivity rate declined from 14.7 percent to 11.5 percent. Researchers noted the decrease could also be due to other factors such as social distancing and restrictions on elective surgeries. However, the COVID-19 cases numbers continued to increase in the state during the study period, suggesting that the decrease in Massachusetts General's positivity rate occurred before the decrease in the general public, re- searchers concluded. n How the US is preparing for flu season: 6 things to know By Mackenzie Bean F ederal health officials and drugmak- ers are taking several steps to boost flu vaccinations this fall and prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed with the double whammy of flu season and the COVID-19 pandemic, reported e Wall Street Journal. Many countries in the Southern Hemisphere are reporting fewer flu cases this season, possibly an indirect benefit of measures to control the spread of COVID-19. However, health officials and other industry leaders said they can't assume these precautions will have the same effect in the U.S. erefore, they are preparing for the 2020-21 flu season in the following ways: 1. Drugmakers are ramping up flu shot production. AstraZeneca, Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline, among others, are manu- facturing 200 million flu shots this year, a 13 percent increase from 2019. 2. e CDC is launching a nationwide flu shot campaign to encourage more Ameri- cans to get vaccinated. During the 2018-19 season, only 45.3 percent of U.S. adults got the flu shot, according to the CDC. e campaign will use social media and radio messaging to highlight the benefits of vacci- nation to the general public, along with more targeted messaging for populations at high risk of flu complications. 3. Sanofi will use TV commercials to target elderly populations about its flu shot designed for those 65 and up. e drugmak- er is also helping physician offices roll out drive-thru or curbside flu shot services. 4. Hospitals are ordering more flu shots. While Cleveland-based University Hospitals returned unused flu vaccines last year, the health system ordered 15 percent more this year to account for greater demand. 5. Federal health officials are working to expand access to the vaccine. Leaders said they want to ensure recently unemployed Americans or those who usually get the flu shot at their offices but are working remotely can get vaccinated at other locations. 6. Pharmacies are implementing so- cial-distancing precautions to ensure Americans' safety when receiving the flu vaccine. Many are setting up tents in park- ing lots, administering the vaccines curbside or requiring patients to make an appoint- ment to manage volumes. n COVID-19 patients test positive for 3 weeks, UPMC analysis finds By Mackenzie Bean A systemwide analysis of COVID-19 retesting data at UPMC found patients generally tested positive for three weeks, the Pittsburgh-based health system said Aug. 10. Researchers analyzed the results of more than 30,000 nucleic acid polymerase chain reaction COVID-19 tests performed between March 3 and May 3 across the system's 40 hospitals and 700 physician offices. Of these tests, 485 were repeated. Of 74 patients who initially tested positive and were retested, about half still were positive. The median time between the first test and a repeat positive was 18 days, while the median time for a negative result upon retest- ing was 23 days. Based on this finding, researchers said PCR tests may remain positive for about 21 days. Another 418 patients initially tested negative and were retested. Of these, 96.4 percent were still negative after the second test. Only 15 patients first tested negative and then positive. Researchers said the data was not collected through a formal clinical trial process. Testing differed based on clinician discretion, so researchers could not calculate a true false-positive rate. The research was published Aug. 10 in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. n

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