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Late last week (Thurs & Friday) the CDC held back-to-back COVID-19 COCA (Clinician Outreach & Communication Activity) Calls; essentially 1 hour webinars for healthcare professionals.
These presentations are heavily attended, often technical - and are of greatest interest to clinicians and healthcare providers - but also may be of interest to the general public.Since many people are unable to carve time from their schedule to watch them in real time, the CDC archives these broadcasts for later viewing. The two latest COCA Calls are now online (see below) and available for viewing:.
Guidance for Certifying Deaths Due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Overview
Monitoring the emergence of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and guiding public health response requires accurate and timely mortality data. Mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) is a key source of information on causes of death. These data are derived from information reported on death certificates. Death certificates are one of the few sources of health-related data that are comparable for small geographic areas and are available over a long time period in the United States. The data are used to examine the characteristics of those dying in the United States, calculate life expectancy, compare mortality trends with other countries, and more recently, to monitor deaths due to COVID-19.
To promote timely and accurate information on deaths due to COVID-19, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) released a Vital Statistics Reporting Guidance document on how to certify deaths due to COVID-19. This document provides guidance to death certifiers on proper cause-of-death certification for cases where confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infection resulted in death.
During this COCA Call, presenters will provide an overview of the importance of mortality data, discuss the NCHS publication and the guidance it provides to clinicians who may need to certify a death involving COVID-19, and present a summary of COVID-19 surveillance through the NVSS.
COVID-19 in the United States: Insights from Healthcare Systems
During this COCA Call, presenters will discuss the current impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare systems in the U.S., including key successes and challenges from the hospital response perspective.
Since late January the CDC has produced 10 other COVID-19 COCA calls (all archived and available at the links below).
COCA Call: April 2, 2020 – Clinical Management of Critically Ill Adults with COVID-19
COCA Call: March 27, 2020 – Underlying Medical Conditions and People at Higher Risk for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
COCA Call: March 25, 2020 – COVID-19 Update: Optimization Strategies for Healthcare Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
COCA Call: March 17, 2020 – Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Update and Information for Long-term Care Facilities
COCA Call: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Update and Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations, March 13 2020
COCA Call: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Update—Information for Clinicians Caring for Children and Pregnant Women, March 12 2020
COCA Call: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Update—What Clinicians Need to Know to Prepare for COVID-19 in the United States, March 5 2020
COCA Now: MMWR Updates: Initial Public Health Response and Interim Clinical Guidance for the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak; and Persons Evaluated for 2019 Novel Coronavirus — United States, January 2020
COCA Now: Shipping of CDC 2019 Novel Coronavirus Diagnostic Test Kits BeginsCOCA Call: January 31, 2020 – Outbreak of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)—Interim Guidance for Clinicians
