Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

22 PATIENT & CAREGIVER EXPERIENCE Limiting workers' inhalation of COVID-19 virus must be top Biden priority, experts tell CDC By Kelly Gooch A group of physicians and scientists is calling on the CDC to do more to address inhalation exposure to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and protect workers in high- risk settings, including hospitals. In a letter dated Feb. 15 and shared with Becker's Feb. 17, 13 experts in aerosol science, occupational health and infectious disease say federal officials should strength- en measures to limit inhalation exposure to SARS-COV-2 as a cornerstone of President Joe Biden's plan for COVID-19 response and pandemic preparedness. e letter was sent to Jeff Zients, coor- dinator of the White House's COVID-19 response; CDC Director Rochelle Walen- sky, MD; and Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the White House's health adviser. "Our letter focuses on the importance of acknowledging the fact that aerosol trans- mission is playing a major role in spreading SARS-CoV-2," Kimberly Prather, PhD, one of the signatories, and infectious disease spe- cialist and professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine, said in a news release. "We now know from evidence that infectious aerosols, produced simply by breathing and speaking, float in air for hours and can accumulate indoors in poorly ventilated spaces. "Our letter encourages CDC and other federal agencies to provide clear guidance on how to best protect against inhalation exposure to aerosols so we can reopen, and safely keep open, schools and businesses. is includes taking steps to test and improve ventilation and filtration to clean the air that people share in indoor spaces." e experts said action is needed more now, given the high number COVID-19 infections and deaths, the pace of the vaccine rollout and the possibility of more transmissible variants. ey urged the CDC to update and strengthen agency guidelines to fully address transmission through inhalation exposure to small inhalable particles from infectious sources at all ranges. Respiratory protection guidelines should in- clude all healthcare workers, not just those with direct contact with COVID-19 patients, they said. ey also want federal officials to recom- mend the use of high-quality masks, such as N95 respirators, to protect high-risk healthcare workers, according to e New York Times. In an email to the newspaper, CDC officials said N95 respirators are not recommended for the general public "for reasons supported by science, comfort, costs and practicality." For healthcare workers, the agency recom- mends N95 respirators to protect workers during high-risk medical procedures. n 31% of nurses cite burnout as reason for leaving job By Mackenzie Bean N early one-third of nurses reported leaving their jobs because of burnout in 2018, representing the most recent national estimates, according to a study published Feb. 4 in JAMA Network Open. Researchers analyzed survey data of more than 3.9 mil- lion registered nurses in the U.S. collected between April 30 and Oct. 12, 2018. In total, 418,769 nurses reported leaving their jobs in the last year, and 31.5 percent identified burnout as a reason for their departure. Among nurses who said they considered leaving, 43.4 percent cited burnout as a contributing factor. Other factors that contributed to nurses leaving their roles included: a stressful work environment (34.4 per- cent); inadequate staffing (30 percent); poor manage- ment (33.9 percent); and opportunities for better pay (26.5 percent). Nurses who worked in a hospital were 80 percent more likely to cite burnout as a reason for ever considering leav- ing their jobs, compared to nurses working in a clinic. n 10 best paying locations for physicians By Gabrielle Masson B eing a physician is one of the top jobs in the U.S., with a median salary of $206,500 in 2019, according to U.S. News & World Report. The publication used median salary data for 2019 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Here are the best paying cities for physicians: 1. Janesville, Wis.: $284,720 2. Laredo, Texas: $282,730 3. Salinas, Calif.: $282,640 4. Pittsfield, Mass.: $279,900 5. Ocean City, N.J.: $279,790 Here are the best paying states for physicians: 1. Alaska: $258,550 2. New Hampshire: $257,220 3. Maine: $251,930 4. Montana: $247,720 5. Wisconsin: $246,060 n

• Cover