News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – Requiring healthcare workers to get vaccinated against influenza is one effective way to boost their vaccination rates, and another may be to target immunization messages to workers who are relatively isolated from coworkers, according to reports being presented this week at a conference on healthcare-associated infections.

Editor's note: This story was revised after initial posting to specify which arm of the CDC issued the statement described.

(CIDRAP News) – Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday rejected a contention from several professional groups that its guidance on respiratory protection for healthcare workers caring for H1N1 patients was influenced by a recent controversial study by Australian researchers.

(CIDRAP News) – A Canadian study raises questions about the value of formal "fit testing" for the respirators worn by healthcare workers to protect them from airborne pathogens, suggesting that it does little good for workers who don't routinely wear the devices.