CShorten/CDC-COVID-FAQ huggingface dataset:
Category: COVID-19 Risk
Question: Who is at risk for infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19?
Answer: Currently, those at greatest risk of infection are persons who have had prolonged, unprotected close contact (i.e., within 6 feet for 15 minutes or longer) with a patient with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, regardless of whether the patient has symptoms. Persons frequently in congregate settings (e.g., homeless shelters, assisted living facilities, college or university dormitories) are at increased risk of acquiring infection because of the increased likelihood of close contact. Those who live in or have recently been to areas with sustained transmission may also be at higher risk of infection. All persons can reduce the risk to themselves and others by wearing a mask, practicing physical distancing, washing their hands often, and taking other prevention measures. For more information, see Risk Assessment and Your Health.
Category: COVID-19 Risk
Question: Who is at risk for severe COVID-19?
Answer: Among adults, the risk for severe illness from COVID-19 increases with age, with older adults at highest risk. Severe illness means that the person with COVID-19 may require hospitalization, intensive care, or a ventilator to help them breathe, or they may even die. People of any age with certain underlying medical conditions are also at increased risk for severe illness from SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Category: COVID-19 Risk
Question: What is multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) and who is at risk?
Answer: CDC continues to investigate multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) associated with COVID-19. Children and adolescents with MIS-C have presented with a persistent fever and a variety of signs and symptoms including involvement of multiple organs (e.g., cardiac, gastrointestinal, renal, hematologic, dermatologic, neurologic) and elevated inflammatory markers. CDC is collaborating with domestic and international partners to better understand this new syndrome, including how common it is and its risk factors. For more information, including a full case definition and how to report MIS-C to your health department, visit MIS-C Information for Healthcare Providers.
Category: Infection Control
Question: When should healthcare facilities make changes to interventions based on changes in community transmission levels?
Answer: Some CDC infection prevention and control recommendations for healthcare settings are based on Community Transmission levels. In general, healthcare facilities should consider checking their local Community Transmission level weekly. When a healthcare facility’s Community Transmission level increases and the increase results in a change in the recommended interventions, the new interventions should be implemented as soon as possible. When a healthcare facility’s Community Transmission levels decrease into a category that corresponds with relaxation of an intervention, facilities should consider confirming the reduction is sustained, by monitoring for at least two weeks, before relaxing the intervention.
Category: Infection Control
Question: Can employees choose to wear respirators when not required by the employer?
Answer: In situations where the use of a respirator is not required either by the employer or by an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard, the employer may still offer filtering facepiece respirators or permit employees to use their own respirators as long as the employer determines that such respirator use will not in itself create a hazard. This is considered voluntary use under the Respiratory Protection Standard. CDC encourages employers to permit workers to voluntarily use filtering facepiece respirators like N95s. If an employer allows voluntary use of filtering facepiece respirators, the employer must provide users with 29 CFR 1910.134 Appendix D – Information for Employees Using Respirators When Not Required Under the Standard. See 29 CFR 1910.134(c)(2) for additional requirements applicable to voluntary respirator use. Healthcare personnel, both paid and unpaid, should be allowed to bring their own highly protective masks (such as N95 respirators) as long as the mask does not violate the facility’s safety and health requirements. They should not be asked to remove their more protective source control device (a well-fitting N95 respirator, for example) for a less protective device (such as a procedure mask) unless the mask or respirator is visibly soiled, damaged, or hard to breathe through. However, devices brought from home may not be appropriate for protecting healthcare personnel from all job hazards, and they should change to recommended personal protective equipment when indicated (for instance, before entering the room of a patient managed with Transmission-Based Precautions). Learn more about the types of masks and respirators and infection control recommendations for healthcare personnel.
Category: Infection Control
Question: What should visitors use for source control (masks or respirators) when visiting healthcare facilities?
Answer: CDC recommends that people visiting healthcare facilities use the most protective form of source control (masks or respirators) that fits well and will be worn consistently. Healthcare facilities may choose to offer well-fitting facemasks as a source control option for visitors but should allow the use of a clean mask or respirator with higher level protection by people who chose that option based on their individual preference.  Masks and respirators used for source control should be changed if they become visibly soiled, damaged, or hard to breathe through. Learn more about the types of masks and respirators and infection control recommendations for healthcare personnel.
Category: Infection Control
Question: Should facilities that perform elective medical pre-procedural testing of asymptomatic patients modify their testing based on a patient's report of a positive viral test for SARS-CoV-2 in the prior 90 days?
Answer: In general, viral testing is not necessary for asymptomatic patients who have recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection in the prior 90 days.  However, if a facility is performing medical pre-procedural viral testing and the patient cannot provide documentation of their prior positive viral test, the safest approach is for the facility to retest using their current protocol.  In this situation, antigen testing is preferred. As viral tests for SARS-CoV-2 can remain positive for extended periods, even among patients who are no longer infectious, this approach could result in unnecessary isolation of the patient or delay of an elective medical procedure. Facilities may choose to accept self-test results to determine when to proceed with elective medical procedures. Such an approach assumes that the patient self-administered the viral test properly and interpreted the viral test results correctly.  If there is uncertainty about the validity of reported self-test results, facilities might attempt to acquire documentation of the test results or elect to proceed with their own pre-procedure viral testing.
Category: Infection Control
Question: Can self-tests (also known as over-the-counter or home tests) be used when determining when healthcare personnel (HCP) with SARS-CoV-2 infection or higher-risk exposures may return to work?
Answer: Viral testing is recommended following a higher-risk exposure and might also be used to inform when HCP with SARS-CoV-2 infection may return to work. Using laboratory-based or point-of-care tests are generally preferred in these situations; these tests help ensure the test was administered correctly by a trained provider and allow for official results to be shared with occupational health services. Use of self-tests might be considered in some situations. However, such an approach may inappropriately transfer the cost of testing to HCP, Requires trust that HCP self-administered and interpreted the test results correctly, and Requires that HCP report their own results to occupational health services. If self-tests are used, consideration should be given to performing a second test at least 24 hours following an initial negative test; if negative, this increases the confidence the HCP are not infectious. Facilities could also consider having HCP present for a proctored test to assist with ensuring appropriate collection and interpretation.  CDC has resources to assist individuals with self-testing.
Category: Infection Control
Question: Why does CDC continue to recommend respiratory protection equivalent or higher to the level provided by an N95 disposable filtering facepiece respirator for care of patients with known or suspected COVID-19?
Answer: CDC’s guidance to use NIOSH-approved N95 or equivalent or higher level respirators when providing care for patients with suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection is based on the current understanding of SARS-CoV-2 and related respiratory viruses.  Current knowledge about modes of SARS-CoV-2 transmission are described in the Scientific Brief: SARS-CoV-2 Transmission. Facemasks commonly used during surgical procedures will provide barrier protection against droplet sprays contacting mucous membranes of the nose and mouth, but they are not designed to protect wearers from inhaling small particles. N95 and equivalent or higher level respirators, such as other disposable filtering facepiece respirators, powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs), and elastomeric respirators, provide both barrier and respiratory protection because of their fit and filtration characteristics. Respirators should be used as part of a respiratory protection program that provides staff with medical evaluations, training, and fit testing. Although facemasks are routinely used for the care of patients with common viral respiratory infections, N95 or equivalent or higher level respirators are routinely recommended for emerging pathogens like SARS CoV-2, which have the potential for transmission via small particles, the ability to cause severe infections, and limited or no treatment options.  While the situation is evolving for SARS-CoV-2, CDC continues to recommend respiratory protection while the impact of new variants are being assessed.
Category: Infection Control
Question: What personal protective equipment (PPE) should be worn by individuals transporting patients with suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection within a healthcare facility? For example, what PPE should be worn when transporting the patient to radiology for imaging that cannot be performed in the patient room?
Answer: In general, transport and movement of a patient with suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection outside of their room should be limited to medically essential purposes. If being transported outside of the room, such as to radiology, healthcare personnel (HCP) in the receiving area should be notified in advance of transporting the patient. For transport, the patient should wear a facemask or cloth face covering (if tolerated) to contain secretions and their body should be covered with a clean sheet. If transport personnel must prepare the patient for transport (e.g., transfer them to the wheelchair or gurney), transport personnel should wear all recommended PPE (gloves, a gown, respiratory protection that is at least as protective as a fit tested NIOSH-certified disposable N95 filtering facepiece respirator and eye protection [i.e., goggles or disposable face shield that covers the front and sides of the face]). This recommendation is needed because these interactions typically involve close, often face-to-face, contact with the patient in an enclosed space (e.g., patient room). Once the patient has been transferred to the wheelchair or gurney (and prior to exiting the room), transporters should remove their gown and gloves and perform hand hygiene. The transporter should continue to wear their respirator.  The continued use of eye protection by the transporter is also recommended if there is potential that the patient might not be able to tolerate their facemask or cloth face covering for the duration of transport.   Additional PPE should not be required unless there is an anticipated need to provide medical assistance during transport (e.g., helping the patient replace a dislodged facemask). After arrival at their destination, receiving personnel (e.g., in radiology) and the transporter (if assisting with transfer) should perform hand hygiene and wear all recommended PPE. If still wearing their original respirator and eye protection, the transporter should take care to avoid self-contamination when donning the remainder of the recommended PPE. This cautious approach will be refined and updated as more information becomes available and as response needs change in the United States. Interim guidance for EMS personnel transporting patients with confirmed or suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection is available here. EMS personnel should wear all recommended PPE because they are providing direct medical care and in close contact with the patient for longer periods of time.
Category: Infection Control
Question: What personal protective equipment (PPE) should be worn by environmental services (EVS) personnel who clean and disinfect rooms of hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection?
Answer: In general, minimize the number of personnel entering the room of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Healthcare facilities should consider assigning daily cleaning and disinfection of high-touch surfaces to nursing personnel who will already be in the room providing care to the patient. If this responsibility is assigned to EVS personnel, they should wear all recommended PPE when in the room. PPE should be removed upon leaving the room, immediately followed by performance of hand hygiene. After discharge, terminal cleaning can be performed by EVS personnel. They should delay entry into the room until time has elapsed for enough air changes to remove potentially infectious particles. After this time has elapsed, EVS personnel can enter the room and should wear well-fitting source control along with a gown and gloves when performing terminal cleaning. Eye protection should be added if splashes or sprays during cleaning and disinfection activities are anticipated or otherwise required based on the selected cleaning products. Shoe covers are not recommended at this time for SARS-CoV-2.
Category: Infection Control
Question: Which procedures are considered aerosol generating procedures in healthcare settings?
Answer: Some procedures performed on patients are more likely to generate higher concentrations of infectious respiratory aerosols than coughing, sneezing, talking, or breathing. These aerosol generating procedures (AGPs) potentially put healthcare personnel and others at an increased risk for pathogen exposure and infection. Development of a comprehensive list of AGPs for healthcare settings has not been possible, due to limitations in available data on which procedures may generate potentially infectious aerosols and the challenges in determining if reported transmissions during AGPs are due to aerosols or other exposures. There is neither expert consensus, nor sufficient supporting data, to create a definitive and comprehensive list of AGPs for healthcare settings. Commonly performed medical procedures that are often considered AGPs, or that might create uncontrolled respiratory secretions, include: open suctioning of airways sputum induction cardiopulmonary resuscitation endotracheal intubation and extubation non-invasive ventilation (e.g., BiPAP, CPAP) bronchoscopy manual ventilation Based on limited available data, it is uncertain whether aerosols generated from some procedures may be infectious, such as: nebulizer administration*. high flow O2 delivery. *Aerosols generated by nebulizers are derived from medication in the nebulizer. It is uncertain whether potential associations between performing this common procedure and increased risk of infection might be due to aerosols generated by the procedure or due to increased contact between those administering the nebulized medication and infected patients. References related to aerosol generating procedures: Tran K, Cimon K, Severn M, Pessoa-Silva CL, Conly J (2012) Aerosol Generating Procedures and Risk of Transmission of Acute Respiratory Infections to Healthcare Workers: A Systematic Review. PLoS ONE 7(4)
Category: Infection Control
Question: How long does an examination room need to remain vacant after being occupied by a patient with confirmed or suspected COVID-19?
Answer: The amount of time that the air inside an examination room remains potentially infectious depends on a number of factors including the size of the room, the number of air changes per hour, how long the patient was in the room, if the patient was coughing or sneezing, and if an aerosol-generating procedure was performed. In general, it is recommended to restrict HCP and patients without PPE from entering the room until sufficient time has elapsed for enough air changes to remove potentially infectious particles. General guidance is available on clearance rates under differing ventilation conditions. In addition to ensuring sufficient time for enough air changes to remove potentially infectious particles, HCP should clean and disinfect environmental surfaces and shared equipment before the room is used for another patient.
Category: Infection Control
Question: Questions addressing the proper handling of healthcare personnel (HCP) who have recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection, but are still within 3 months of onset of their prior infection.
Answer: If HCP within 3 months of their initial infection develop symptoms consistent with COVID-19, should they be excluded from work or retested? If HCP develop symptoms consistent with COVID-19 within 3 months of a confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection they should be evaluated to identify potential etiologies for their symptoms. If an etiology for the symptoms other than SARS-CoV-2 cannot be identified, they may need to be retested for SARS-CoV-2 infection. If testing is performed, an antigen test instead of a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) is recommended.  Decisions about the need for and duration of work restriction should be based upon their suspected diagnosis (e.g., influenza, SARS-CoV-2 infection). Do HCP within 3 months of their initial infection need to wear all recommended personal protective equipment (PPE) when caring for patients with suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection? For example, if there are limited respirators, should respirators be prioritized for HCP who have not been previously infected? Regardless of suspected or confirmed immunity, HCP should always wear all recommended PPE when caring for patients. In situations of PPE shortages, facilities should refer to CDC strategies for optimizing PPE supply. However, as with other infectious diseases (e.g., measles), allocation of available PPE should not be based on whether HCP have been previously infected or have evidence of immunity.
Category: Infection Control
Question: Does CDC recommend the use of oral antimicrobial rinses before dental appointments to prevent the transmission of SARS-CoV-2?
Answer: Preprocedural mouth rinses (PPMR) with an antimicrobial product (e.g. chlorhexidine gluconate, povidone-iodine) have been shown to reduce the level of oral microorganisms in aerosols and spatter generated during dental procedures. Evidence from recent studies suggest that some PPMR solutions are efficacious and may temporarily decrease the viral load of SARS-CoV-2 in the oral cavity. Targeted clinical studies are currently underway to learn more about the potential role of PPMR and the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Because more research is needed to demonstrate the effectiveness of PPMR in preventing transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the dental setting, CDC does not provide a recommendation for or against the use of PPMR before dental procedures. However, if PPMR are used before dental procedures, they should be used as an adjunct to other infection prevention and control measures recommended to decrease the spread of infectious diseases in dental settings. Such measures include delaying elective dental procedures for patients with suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection until they are no longer infectious or for patients who meet criteria for quarantine until they complete quarantine.
Category: Testing, Diagnosis, and Notification
Question: How do you test a patient for infection wtih SARS-COV-2?
Answer: Clinicians are able to access laboratory testing through state and local public health laboratories, as well as commercial and clinical laboratories across the country. The Association of Public Health Laboratories provides a list of states and territories with laboratories that are using COVID-19 viral tests. For more information, see Testing in U.S. Clinicians should direct testing questions to their state health departments. Commercial reference laboratories are also able to offer a larger volume of testing for SARS-CoV-2. CDC has guidance for who should be tested, but decisions about testing are at the discretion of state and local health departments and/or individual clinicians. Healthcare providers should report positive  results to their local/state health department CDC does not directly collect these data directly.
Category: Testing, Diagnosis, and Notification
Question: Do existing commercially available multiple respiratory virus panels detect SARS-CoV-2?
Answer: Yes. There are commercially developed respiratory panels with multi-pathogen molecular assays that can detect respiratory pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2, influenza, and other human coronaviruses that can cause acute respiratory illness. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) maintains a list of tests that includes viral tests with Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).
Category: Testing, Diagnosis, and Notification
Question: If a patient tests positive for another respiratory virus, should that exclude SARS-CoV-2 as a cause of illness?
Answer: Patients can be infected with more than one virus at the same time. Coinfections with other respiratory viruses in people with COVID-19 have been reported. Therefore, identifying infection with one respiratory virus does not exclude SARS-CoV-2 virus infection.
Category: Testing, Diagnosis, and Notification
Question: Should chest CT be used for diagnosis of COVID-19?
Answer: Clinicians considering use of chest CT scans for diagnosis or management of COVID-19 patients should consider whether such imaging will change clinical management. The American College of Radiology (ACR) recommends that CT should not be used to screen for COVID-19, or as a first-line test to diagnose COVID-19, and that CT should be used sparingly and reserved for hospitalized, symptomatic patients with specific clinical indications for CT. Appropriate infection control procedures should be followed before scanning subsequent patients. For more information see, ACR Recommendations for the use of Chest Radiography and Computed Tomography (CT) for Suspected COVID-19 Infectionexternal icon.
Category: Testing, Diagnosis, and Notification
Question: Whom should healthcare providers notify if they suspect a patient has COVID-19?
Answer: Healthcare providers should immediately notify infection control personnel at their facility if they suspect COVID-19 in a patient. If a patient tests positive, providers should report that positive result to their local/state health department.