Policy Updates

The CDC’s Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA) team is sponsoring a webinar, “From Cave to Clinic: Managing Histoplasmosis in Returning Travelers.” Presenters will focus on cave-associated outbreaks in travelers visiting Central and South America. The webinar is Thursday, January 15 at 2:00 – 3:00 pm ET. Learn more.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced that HHS has reduced the number of universally recommended childhood vaccines from 17 to 11. Although the vaccine schedule overhaul is unlikely to result in families losing access or insurance coverage for vaccines, the move may lead to reduced uptake and increase cases of vaccine-preventable disease. Read the … Continued

The American Medical Association (AMA) will be hosting a webinar with CDC experts to inform clinicians about the unusually severe West Nile Virus outbreaks this year, with human disease cases across 45 states. The webinar will be Friday, October 24 at 3:00 pm ET. Register here for the webinar.

The National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC) is partnering with the CDC to present a webinar on the latest outbreak of Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The webinar will be Friday, October 24 at 3:00 pm ET. Webinar presenters will discuss the current outbreak along with … Continued

As a member of the Global Infection Prevention and Control Network (GIPCN), APIC signed on to a letter calling on the World Health Organization (WHO) to restore resources and staffing for global infection prevention and control programs to previous levels. The letter to the Director-General also calls on the WHO to establish a clear implementation … Continued

As of this writing, it appears likely that the federal government will cease most operations due to lack of funding at 12:01 am ET on Wednesday, October 1. Each federal agency has developed a contingency plan in the event of a shutdown. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) plan calls for furlough of … Continued

Recent reports have shown an increase of more than 400 percent in infections from New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-producing carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (NDM-CRE). In New York City, NDM-positive CRE surpassed Klebsiella pneumonia carbapenemase (KPC)-positive CRE cases in 2024. Providers should be aware of predominant carbapenemases within their clinical settings when initiating antibiotic treatment for patients with CRE infections. … Continued

APIC joined more than 70 organizations in a letter to the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) supporting vaccines as one of the most effect tools in preventing disease. The organizations — representing public health, patients, and healthcare professionals — urged the committee to uphold its evidence-based process for making vaccination recommendations and ensuring … Continued

The CDC Health Alert Network (HAN) issued a Health Advisory about a new outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). EVD is a severe illness and is often fatal. As of September 18, there have been 37 confirmed cases and 19 deaths, including four healthcare workers. There have … Continued