The Freedom Cafe...Read On...

I am on PTO this week so my blogging is light.

I love this clip...The Freedom Cafe...a spin on freedom to not wear a mask in the face of a global pandemic.   

Some individual choices are patently absurd.

Universal Screening for the SARS-CoV-2 virus on Hospital Admission in an area with low COVID-19 Prevalence

We looked (and continue to look) for SARS-CoV2 in asymptomatic individuals, admittedly in a low prevalence setting, as summarized here in our most recent publication in Infection Control Hospital Epidemiology.

The positivity rate was very low, suggestive that a change in strategy is needed. Healthcare workers will continue to demand a 'rule out test' as a fear mitigation strategy,

Voices of Reason (and Science): Drs. Richard Wenzel and Anthony Fauci

Source: The Hill

Our very own Dr. Richard Wenzel published this OP/ED essay in The Hill today, once again demonstrating how both he and Dr. Anthony Fauci are the voices of reason (and science) in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is true, with the current administration the COVID-19 response is like a space odyssey with no flight plan and no instruments.

We need a better COVID-19 national strategy.

Facemask Accessories: A Potential Boost To Public Health?

Source: USA Today

In a consumerist society obsessed with social media, facemask accessories are all over instragram, as published here in USA Today.

As long as the accessory do not compromise the facemask fit and function, I am all for it, as referenced in the article.  If accessories increase facemask adoption in public, so much the better.

I am, however, skeptical of the public health impact of facemask accessories. Sadly, for those fixated on their individual liberties in the time of a public health crisis requiring a collective response, facemask accessories will have minimal positive impact. 

Facemask accessories are most likely for public health converts.

Grit! From Aberdeen to Athens by Bicycle in the time of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Kleon Papadimitriou, The Intrepid Cyclist - Source: NY Times

Those close to me know that I value grit and perseverance.

I like this story about a 20-year-old university student who cycled (solo) home from Aberdeen, Scotland to Athens, Greece. He was motivated by the goal of not being socially isolated in Scotland during border closures and travel restrictions by air and rail.

The going was not easy, particularly early on, but grit prevailed.

This reminded me of a story about a gent who traveled from Cairo to Capetown by bicycle, summarized here.  

Neither of these bicycle journeys are small accomplishments.

John Lennon's Imagine....and COVID-19

So I read this article in The Lancet Infectious Diseases yesterday,  a modeling study to mitigate early spread of SARS-CoV2. With lower infection scenarios, such as at the onset of the pandemic, a combined approach of quarantine, school closure and social distancing in the workplace could have prevented 99% of infections.

Of course, the COVID-19 pony is well out of the barn in the USA with greater than 130,00 deaths and counting.

Imagine if we had a coherent COVID-19 national policy, without an anti-science posture, with people collectively distancing and wearing masks for the greater good, where public health experts are not discredited and vilified, imagine all the people living life in peace, SARS CoV2 free.

People say that I am a dreamer, but (almost certainly) I'm not the only one.

Collective Experience: Stopping the Routine Use of Contact Precautions for MRSA and VRE in the Hospital

This will certainly not satisfy our critics but our 10+ year collective experience with the de-escalation of contact precautions for the control of endemic MRSA and VRE cannot be fully dismissed. 

Using an interrupted time series study design across 3 academic medical centers, we once again report no negative impact on healthcare associated infection rates following the discontinuation of contact precautions for endemic MRSA and VRE.  Limitations exist, such as full compliance measures data on infection prevention best practices and the absence of surveillance screening cultures for MRSA and VRE colonization.

Our findings are published here in the American Journal of Infection Control.

As always, draw your own conclusions.

The Culture of One-Click Purchasing Should Not Extend Into Healthcare: Why Diagnostic Stewardship Matters

Check out this neat article on diagnostic stewardship by former VCU resident Dr. Sejal Morjaria, now an ID attending at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

I could not agree more, one-click purchasing should not carryover to one click test ordering. Limitations, hard stops and order entry decision support are required to minimize over-testing.  Education and awareness only go so far...

Coffeeland! A must Read for Coffee Addicts

For addicts of the worlds most widely used drug, this book is a must read. As with many things coveted, there is a dark side.

Coffeeland neatly summarizes the history of coffee production and consumption and weaves a gripping story of capitalism, manipulation and exploitation in El Salvador. Click here for a review of the book in The Guardian.

I highly recommend it.