Disease investigators at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are working on the case of a new COVID-19 outbreak at their own conference, which had about 35 attendees sick as of Tuesday.
Last week, the CDC hosted the 2023 Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Conference in Atlanta. This is the first time the conference has been held in person since his 2019. In 2020 and 2021, EIS personnel were preoccupied with responding to the pandemic.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is hard on everyone, especially our public health workers. meeting agendacelebrates the return of in-person gatherings.
However, signs of trouble soon appeared. Several participants reportedly tested positive during the conference from Monday, April 24 to Thursday, April 27, drawing about 2,000 attendees. Some people told The Washington Post that conference moderators warned about positive cases several times. He said he pointed out the case. Conference leaders also canceled in-person training, emailed current CDC guidance to all officers, and offered to extend hotel stays for sick participants who need to be quarantined, according to the Post. rice field.
On Friday, April 28, the CDC chapter chief emailed Staff about possible outbreakAn email obtained by The Washington Post read, “We are pleased to announce that several individuals who attended the EIS conference have tested positive for COVID-19.” positive.
As of Tuesday, May 2, the CDC had confirmed about 35 participants had tested positive, Nordlund told Ars. She added that everyone known to the CDC who has tested positive is now in home isolation and is being monitored for symptoms.
quick response
“CDC is working with the Georgia Department of Health to conduct a rapid epidemiological assessment of confirmed COVID-19 cases that may be associated with the 2023 EIS conference, and will continue to provide medical assistance at this stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are identifying patterns of infection in the virus,” wrote Nordlund. Email Alice. She told the Post that such an investigation could help improve.”Future Public Health Guidance It’s time to move out of the public health emergency and into the next phase of COVID-19 surveillance and response. “
The conference followed current CDC guidance, Nordlund told Ars, adding that “many conference attendees opted for masks.”
“Anytime there are large gatherings indoors, especially at conferences, COVID-19 can spread, even during periods of low community spread,” she added.
However, other attendees reported not wearing masks, social distancing or taking other precautions to prevent transmission of COVID-19 during the event. They are all likely to be up to date on vaccinations.
The CDC outbreak comes at a time when the lowest official number of cases has been recorded since the pandemic began, but the surveillance and reporting of cases has declined dramatically. The virus is still killing more than 250 people a day in the US, but mainly elderlyand developed by millions long covid, many Americans have emerged from the pandemic and no longer see COVID-19 as an immediate threat. . Nevertheless, such outbreaks remain possible and the virus continues to evolve, with the latest Omicron variants XBB.1.5 and XBB.1.16 now gaining momentum nationally.
“CDC continues to recommend that everyone 6 months and older stay up to date on all COVID-19 vaccines, including updated vaccines,” Nordlund said in an email to Ars. It concluded: “The COVID-19 vaccine is effective in protecting people from severe illness, hospitalization, and death.”
