Respiratory Infections News

On the heels of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, his administration announced a new National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan, which includes a test-to-treat initiative.

In light of new masking recommendations from the CDC, the AAP has updated its own masking guidance but says that masking is still an “important layer of protection” for children.

Real-world evidence published Tuesday in MMWR demonstrated that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has protected children and adolescents against COVID-19, including kids aged 5 to 11 years.

PHOENIX — Azithromycin failed to prevent infants with severe respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, from later developing recurrent wheeze, according to data presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Annual Meeting.

The NFL’s COVID-19 test-to-release protocol, implemented in December during the omicron surge, helped NFL players and staff members shorten their isolation time, according to a study published in MMWR.

One in three older adults reported one or more new or persistent COVID-19 symptoms following acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, researchers reported in BMJ.

New COVID-19 guidance released by the CDC on Friday indicates that most Americans now live in areas where they can go maskless.

The CDC published a recommendation and interim guidance in MMWR for a 4-month regimen to treat patients aged 12 years or older with drug-susceptible pulmonary tuberculosis.

No. Used rationally, rapid nonculture tests can be a powerful complement to cultivating organisms. However, they will not fully replace cultures for the foreseeable future. Having an organism in hand allows phenotypic testing — most notably of antimicrobial susceptibility — and strain typing. Cultures can confirm results of rapid tests. They can provide insights not available by certain rapid tests, such as detection of organisms not included in a particular diagnostic panel. They can give noncorroborative data that are important in shaping interpretation of rapid test results and in guiding clinical decision-making.

Rapid diagnostic tests, now synonymous with COVID-19, are instrumental to patient care, helping to improve antimicrobial therapy, patient outcomes and even infection control, experts said.