Wednesday, March 25, 2020

CDC COCA Call: PPE Optimization Strategies For COVID-19



NOTE: Yesterday's scheduled COCA Call - Underlying Medical Conditions and People at Higher Risk for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) - has been rescheduled for Friday afternoon.

#15,139

Despite more than a decade of warnings that our PPE (personal protective equipment) stockpiles are insufficient for even a mild pandemic (see 2014's NIOSH: Options To Maximize The Supply of Respirators During A Pandemic), very little has actually been done by the nations of the world to remedy the situation.
As a result, millions of healthcare personnel are now faced with having to work without proper protection. 
There is no nice way to put it - many will become infected, and some will undoubtedly die because of this abject failure on the part of governments and hospitals to plan ahead.
  Basic PPEs should have been the foundation of our public health pandemic response, not an afterthought. But we have what we have, and HCWs across the country and around the world are going to have to find creative ways to stretch supplies as best they can.

Today the CDC will hold a COCA call on strategies to optimize the limited supplies of PPEs going into this pandemic.

COVID-19 Update: Optimization Strategies for Healthcare Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Due to the high demand we anticipate for this COCA Call, we encourage participants to consider viewing on Facebook. To see the call live, please click on COCA’s Facebook Page.
Overview
During this COCA Call, presenters will provide a COVID-19 update and discuss strategies for healthcare facilities to optimize personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies such as eye protection, isolation gowns, facemasks, and N95 respirators.
Presenters
Nancy Messonnier, MD
Director, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
LCDR Grace D. Appiah, MD, MS (USPHS)
COVID-19 Health System-Worker Safety Task Force Clinical Team
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Michael Bell, MD
Deputy Director of Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
David T. Kuhar, MD
COVID-19 Hospital Infection Prevention Team Lead
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CAPT Lisa Delaney, MS, CIH (USPHS)
COVID-19 Response Worker Health and Safety Team
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Call Materials
Call Slides: View Now pdf icon[PDF – 607 KB]Call Transcript: None at this time
Call Details

When: Wednesday, March 25, 2020, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. (Eastern Time)
Webinar Link:
https://www.zoomgov.com/j/1605586706external icon
Dial In:
US: +1 669 254 5252
or +1 646 828 7666
International numbersexternal icon
iPhone one-tap:
US: +16692545252,,1605586706# or +16468287666,,1605586706#
Webinar ID: 160 558 6706
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