Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1468749
8 INFECTION CONTROL States ranked by central line infection rates By Gabrielle Masson N ew Mexico has the highest rate of central line-asso- ciated bloodstream infections, while Vermont has the lowest, according to the healthcare-associated infections dataset from CMS. Measures are developed by the CDC and collected through the National Healthcare Safety Network. The measures show how often patients in a particular hospital contract certain infections during the course of medical treatment when compared to similar hospitals. The CDC calculates a standardized infection ratio, which may take into account care location, number of patients with an existing infection, lab methods, hospital affiliation with a medical school, hospital bed size, patient age and patient health. The measures apply to all patients treated in acute care hospitals, including adult, pediatric, neonatal, Medi- care and non-Medicare patients, according to the CMS data dictionary. CMS data was last updated Jan. 7, 2022. Data was col- lected from Oct. 1, 2019, to March 3, 2021. Data from the second quarter of 2020 is excluded because of the impact of the pandemic. The state of nasal COVID-19 vaccines: 4 notes By Erica Carbajal S ome experts are calling for the development of a nasal COVID-19 vaccine as federal officials con- tinue to weigh what the nation's booster strategy could look like, The Washington Post reported April 10. Experts have previously said nasal spray vaccines may make better boosters than injected shots because they offer protection in the mucosal linings of the airway, where the coronavirus first lands. Four details: 1. While the primary goal of COVID-19 vaccination is to prevent severe disease, nasal vaccines would aim to prevent infection altogether. "If we want to change the goal posts, so to speak, and get into really limiting infection and preventing infec- tion, the final bullet point is, we need to change the route of immunization," said Robert Seder, MD, chief of cellular immunology at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, proposing a scenario in which a variant emerged that was as transmissible as omicron and caused more severe illness like delta. "Wouldn't you want a vaccine [against] not just severe disease, but [to] prevent transmission?" he told the Post. 2. A nasal spray that prevents infection altogether is a lofty goal, with a complicated regulatory path in the way. That means one wouldn't be ready by fall, when cases are expected to increase again as people gather indoors and colder weather moves in. Lack of funding also stands in the way of next-generation vaccine concepts. "We could Operation Warp Speed the next-generation mucosal vaccines, but we don't have the funding to do it," said Karin Bok, PhD, director of pandemic prepared- ness and emergency response at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. "We're doing every- thing we can to get ready … just to get ready in case we have resources available," she told the news outlet. 3. Theoretically, a nasal spray vaccine would be ad- ministered as a puff of droplets in each nostril. Vaccine developers testing such vaccines have used a modified, harmless version of a live virus that includes the spike protein found on the outside of the coronavirus. 4. In February, The New York Times reported there were at least a dozen nasal COVID-19 vaccines in development globally. n Healthcare-associated CLABSI rates, by state, from lowest to highest: 1. Vermont — 0.392 2. North Dakota — 0.51 3. Alaska — 0.529 4. Delaware — 0.53 5. New Hampshire — 0.549 6. Maine — 0.573 7. Nebraska — 0.586 8. Washington — 0.611 9. Hawaii — 0.614 10. Oregon — 0.71 11. Indiana — 0.716 12. Tennessee — 0.718 13. Colorado — 0.735 14. Wisconsin — 0.754 15. Kansas — 0.796 16. Michigan — 0.818 17. Illinois — 0.819 18. Massachusetts — 0.831 19. Virginia — 0.833 20. Idaho — 0.842 21. Rhode Island — 0.851 22. District of Columbia — 0.871 23. New York — 0.873 24. Florida — 0.886 25. Pennsylvania — 0.896 26. Kentucky — 0.899 27. Nevada — 0.899 28. Minnesota — 0.916 29. South Carolina — 0.925 30. Ohio — 0.926 31. Maryland — 0.941 32. New Jersey — 0.96 33. Utah — 0.991 34. North Carolina — 1.007 35. Missouri — 1.027 36. South Dakota — 1.045 37. Arizona — 1.056 38. Georgia — 1.063 39. California — 1.074 40. Connecticut — 1.077 41. Wyoming — 1.08 42. Alabama — 1.094 43. Montana — 1.095 44. Oklahoma — 1.126 45. Texas — 1.139 46. West Virginia — 1.14 47. Iowa — 1.163 48. Arkansas — 1.169 49. Mississippi — 1.258 50. Louisiana — 1.311 51. New Mexico — 1.407 n