This document serves as an introduction, or review, for topics related to Seasonal Flu and what can be anticipated in the 2021-22 Flu Season. It includes a description of Flu, prevention, at risk groups, flu shots, incubation, symptoms, testing & diagnosis, and more. It also has links to both CDC and Canada Health resources on many of the topics. View/Download Full Document
After about a 10 day pause in the Johnson and Johnson (Janssen) Vaccine being administered in the US, on April 23, the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practice (APIC), recommended to the CDC & FDA to restart J&J vaccinations again. The pause was due to reports of multiple cases of a new syndrome that identified as an apparently rare cerebral venous sinus thrombosis with thrombocytopenia, later called TTS, and potentially associated with the J&J COVID-19 vaccine. This turned out to be...
THE FDA & CDC have recommended a pause in administering J&J (Janssen) COVID vaccinations after the VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) had reports of six (6) women, between the ages of 18 and 48, developing a rare type of blood clot between 6 & 13 days after receiving the J&J vaccine. This article contains an overview of the HAN Alert Recommendation and why it is so important, some information about this rare clot, adenovirus- vector COVID vaccines, a chart...
Public Health Authorities in the United States have released two health safety alerts and Canadian Health Authorities have released one. All three have implications for First Responders, primarily EMS, but appropriate for others who may encounter these situations too. Each alert/advisory includes information about the alert, what EMS & First Responders can do to manage the situation, and a short list of Resources & Links for obtaining more complete information. #1 is from the CDC, FDA, & the Southern Nevada Health...
The Johnson & Johnson's (J&J) Vaccine started distribution this month and has been used at vaccination sites throughout the US. This vaccine is a different type of vaccine, called a virus vector vaccine; it requires only one shot to achieve full vaccination. The vaccine is also easier to store since it needs only refrigeration and has a longer shelf life. This article covers what is known about the vaccine and what is not, including how the vaccine was developed and...
The CDC has issued its first Guidance for those who are considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The definition of fully vaccinated depends on which vaccine was administered, but is two weeks after the final shot; so two weeks after shot #2 for mRNA vaccines Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna and two weeks after for the single shot adenovirus vaccine Janssen/J & J. The CDC outlines what those that are fully vaccinated should do, and under what circumstances, while also outlining what should...
The available information about COVID-19 is updating/changing on a daily, if not hourly, basis. In an attempt to make this updated info available more quickly, this document provides a list, divided into topics, each with links and a synopsis of what each site represents. There are way too many available articles/sites to include them all, so these pages represent some of what I perceive are the best on the subject, at least at the moment selected. Most of the sites also...
The two mRNA vaccines have been out for more than a month and 4,263,056 individuals have already completed their vaccination series, while millions more await their second shot in the series, and even more are waiting to begin their vaccinations. This update covers what is known about the current vaccines and what is not, that even after vaccination, it is essential that everyone continue their current protective behaviors, particularly with the finding of COVID-19 Variants in both Canada and the...
A year into the COVID Pandemic, and the SARS-CoV-2 virus has mutated millions of times as it transmitted between people. It is what viruses do to survive & thrive. Several of those mutations have resulted in COVID Virus Variants. These variants have been identified by genetic sequencing in the few countries that have been doing aggressive testing for just these changes. Three global variants have been officially identified and, at least temporarily, named. This article outlines why this happens, what...
SARS-CoV-2 Vaccinations to protect against COVID-19 have begun in the United States. This article supplies some FAQs with subsequent discussion intended to help each individual come to their own personal choice on COVID-19 Vaccination based on sound information. This same info can provide an opening for an agency to plan their approach to determining how COVID-19 Vaccinations fit into their Agency and Operational Plan. There is also a list of Resources & Links with supporting materials divided into easy to identify...
The CDC published Guidelines intended to help individuals & families make the best and safest choices for themselves while celebrating the upcoming holidays. Most of the guidance is applicable to other situations and timeframes too. First Responders have two families, a traditional one and a work one, with many share living quarters during their shift. As essential/front line workers, First Responders are often at increased risk and have an ongoing chance of sharing that risk with those they come in contact...
GOAL: Awareness of the Syndrome, early identification of its signs that can be recognized by parents/caregivers, EMS systems, and other first responders, with transport to an appropriate hospital for further evaluation & care. Background: Two labels for one scary syndrome. The first one is from the WHO and the second one is from the CDC for the U.S. The “temporally linked” to COVID is important since no one is sure yet that COVID-19 and this syndrome are cause and effect,...
United States: CDC Health Advisory from the Health Alert Network: https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2020/han00432.asp CDC MIS-C for Parents: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/children/mis-c.html CDC COVID and MIC-C Information for Healthcare Providers: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/pediatric-hcp.html#anchor_1589580133375 Medscape Video & Article on MIS-C in Kids: What Do We Know? https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/930686 Canada: CPSP/PCSP Public Health Alert for Acute Inflammatory Illness in Children…. : https://www.cpsp.cps.ca/uploads/private/CPSP_Public_Health_Alert_Acute_inflammatory_illness_and_COVID-19.pdf CPSP Website for COVID-19 in hospitalized children and non-hospitalized children with chronic co-morbid conditions: https://www.cpsp.cps.ca/surveillance/study-etude/covid-19-in-hospitalized-children-and-non-hospitalized-children-with-chronic-co-morbid-conditions The Provincial Council for Maternal & Child Health (PCMCH) & Kids Health Alliance (KHA) COVID – 19 Information for Healthcare Providers Caring for Children & Youth...
A new syndrome, now named MIS-C, has been identified in multiple countries in the past few weeks which seems to be associated with COVID-19 infection, even if COVID was asymptomatic or unrecognized. It manifests itself as a Kawasaki-like illness and/or as Toxic Shock-Like Syndrome. It needs to be recognized as early as possible, so that monitoring, treatment, and testing can be started early in its course for the best outcomes. That makes it essential for Pre-hospital & Hospital Providers to...
A new COVID-19 resource page on EMS.gov provides easy to find links to the most relevant and up-to-date information from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), NHTSA Office of EMS and other Federal agencies involved in the response to the pandemic. This includes guidance for treating potential COVID-19 patients, information on PPE use and supplies and processes for handling healthcare providers who have been exposed to coronavirus.
Executive Summary: For those Public Safety Agencies reporting an employee’s possible exposure, and expecting notification of a positive COVID-19 disease result from the hospital or public health officer, the expanded Ryan White Act of 2009 update has been published by NIOSH/CDC and will address this issue. Furthermore, emergency response employees covered by the Act have been defined. Full Report: The CDC/NIOSH has updated the Infectious Diseases and Circumstances Relevant to Notification of Emergency Response Employees: Implementation of Sec.2695 of the Ryan White...
IN THE NEWS Executive Summary: The CDC and NIOSH have reported counterfeit respirators being sold on the open market with various methods of NIOSH Approval misrepresentation in the way of pictures and descriptions. Full Report: NIOSH-Approved N95 or better masks are the mainstay of preventing airborne diseases from being transmitted and is the minimum required mask for health care workers when Airborne Precautions are in place (such as for suspected 2019-nCoV patients). They must be individually Fit Tested after a medical evaluation to assure...
IN THE NEWS Target Audience: Leadership & management operational roles for those with occupational risk of infectious disease exposure(s) or even possible risk. All leadership & staff that are part of the occupational or medical services section of an agency, or is contracted with one that administers or provides occupational health services. The CDC just published an update to the Guidelines for Infection Control in Health Care Personnel, 1998. One of the parts that was updated referred, in the 1998 document, to...
The CDC has recently published a new document called Interim Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations Guidance for Measles in Healthcare Settings (7/19). It is a comprehensive document aimed at a person who provides health care to individuals who may have measles. It basically provides the framework to plan and develop policies and procedures for, as well as apply definitions and evidence-based care, to both a suspected or known case of measles. It further provides for the protection of First Responders...
