The CDC/HICPAC committee meeting is getting press:
Article about the removal (and replacement after protest) of the CDC/HICPAC video https://sourcenm.com/2023/08/24/patients-and-advocates-asked-a-cdc-advisory-committee-to-be-more-transparent-then-their-comments-disappeared/
And https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/infectioncontrol/106030
Thank you to everyone at the meeting on August 22 and those of you who sent emails about this topic. If you haven't done so already, today (August 25th) is the last day to submit comments to HICPAC
HICPAC meeting:
https://www.youtube.com/live/OqjC26DGr38
Just public comments from the meeting: https://youtu.be/msjoFGnd0KU
Additional testimony at subsequent WHN meeting: https://youtu.be/IIRFqxK6BWs
National Nurses United has posted a Google doc with suggested talking points for comments at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GVvo0a3qru_1IcpO56Nj4VW3waNdwXapjFTAopwNjxY/mobilebasic
Background: HICPAC is "a federal advisory committee appointed to provide advice and guidance to DHHS and CDC regarding the practice of infection control and strategies for surveillance, prevention, and control of healthcare-associated infections, antimicrobial resistance and related events in United States healthcare settings."
The reason to speak up right now is that HICPAC is currently updating the CDC’s Isolation Precautions: Preventing Transmission of Infectious Agents in Healthcare Settings for the first time since 2007.
For reference, The EPA has recognized that Covid-19 is spread via aerosol/airborne particles and that those particles can remain airborne for hours and accumulate in indoor spaces. And the FDA admits that surgical masks "do not provide a reliable level of protection from aerosolized particles because of the loose fit"
Let's come together to let HICPAC know the simple changes they can make to the CDC guidelines to fulfill their mission to prevent healthcare-associated infections!