There are now two separate Ebola Outbreaks in Africa; one is in the DRC and the other is in Guinea. Guinea, in West Africa is where the Ebola Epidemic of 2014-2016 occurred, which spread to countries in and out of Africa, including the United States. The last Ebola Outbreak in the DRC just ended 11/20 after 5 months. In an abundance of caution, the US Government has vowed to assist the WHO and other Partner Agencies with stopping the current outbreaks...
GOAL: Awareness of the Syndrome, early identification of its signs that can be recognized by parents/caregivers, EMS systems, and other first responders, with transport to an appropriate hospital for further evaluation & care. Background: Two labels for one scary syndrome. The first one is from the WHO and the second one is from the CDC for the U.S. The “temporally linked” to COVID is important since no one is sure yet that COVID-19 and this syndrome are cause and effect,...
United States: CDC Health Advisory from the Health Alert Network: https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2020/han00432.asp CDC MIS-C for Parents: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/children/mis-c.html CDC COVID and MIC-C Information for Healthcare Providers: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/pediatric-hcp.html#anchor_1589580133375 Medscape Video & Article on MIS-C in Kids: What Do We Know? https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/930686 Canada: CPSP/PCSP Public Health Alert for Acute Inflammatory Illness in Children…. : https://www.cpsp.cps.ca/uploads/private/CPSP_Public_Health_Alert_Acute_inflammatory_illness_and_COVID-19.pdf CPSP Website for COVID-19 in hospitalized children and non-hospitalized children with chronic co-morbid conditions: https://www.cpsp.cps.ca/surveillance/study-etude/covid-19-in-hospitalized-children-and-non-hospitalized-children-with-chronic-co-morbid-conditions The Provincial Council for Maternal & Child Health (PCMCH) & Kids...
A new syndrome, now named MIS-C, has been identified in multiple countries in the past few weeks which seems to be associated with COVID-19 infection, even if COVID was asymptomatic or unrecognized. It manifests itself as a Kawasaki-like illness and/or as Toxic Shock-Like Syndrome. It needs to be recognized as early as possible, so that monitoring, treatment, and testing can be started early in its course for the best outcomes. That makes it essential for Pre-hospital & Hospital Providers to...
Any time there is a novel virus, regardless of what it is or where it came from, there is a learning curve for virologists, infectious disease doctors, epidemiologists, other health care workers, first responders and the public. This is even more pronounced when it is a global event, since different countries note and report different data points and have different thresholds for including these elements in a report. Those countries with their own robust health systems, especially with epidemiologically-based public...
FirstWatch Medical Director, Silvia Verdugo Puts COVID-19 in Perspective in JEMS Interview
EMS1 article - Our friend Catherine Counts PhD from Seattle shares data visualization resources to help manage the response to our pandemic.
EMS1 article by Rob Lawrence - Communication, PPE and decontamination strategies highlighted the 4th FirstWatch and Paramedic Chiefs of Canada COVID-19 webinar
This joint webinar of PCC, AIMHI, IAED, NAEMT, CAA, and FirstWatch was the 4th in a series. We were proud to see that over 1,300 people registered for it. With Matt Zavadsky from MedStar moderating, our presenters for Solano County, California were Dr. Bela Matyas from Solano County Public Health, Ted Selby from Solano County EMS, and Jimmy Pierson from Medic Ambulance. They provided incredibly useful and practical information from their ongoing experience providing care for COVID-19 patients quarantined at Travis Air Base. One example of insight shared...
EMS1 article by Mike Taigman - Coronavirus spread in an already busy flu season calls staffing contingency plans and a commitment to hygiene and PPE
The intention of the COVID-19 Process/Policy Template is to provide agencies, medical directors, or others who want to utilize it, an outline/template on which to build an agency-specific policy/protocol to address COVID-19. This includes suggestions for development and/or oversight committees, outside partners and stakeholders, as well as preparation and process for EMS workers who provide best practice care for patients as well as providing for the protection of pre-hospital providers and medical director(s). Its application is totally up to the user. This document...
WSB-TV - Article and Video: Two dozen emergency workers in Washington state are off the job as they are being monitored for possible exposure to the coronavirus. (KIRO7.com)
Executive Summary: A revised Criteria to Guide Evaluation of PUI for COVID-19 and Footnotes have been developed by the CDC to better define what currently makes a person fall into ‘A Person Under Investigation Status’ (aka Case Definition). It consists of an Introduction, the Criteria Chart, List of Affected Geographic Areas of Widespread or Sustained Community Spread, and Footnotes to clarify specific application.
Executive Summary: The COVID-19 outbreak is rapidly evolving into a global event which potentially puts people all over the world at risk for being infected by it. Although it not as lethal as SARS-CoV or MER-CoV, it does, in some countries, seem to have very efficient sustained person to person transmission, which requires careful monitoring and updated recommendations and guidance to hopefully prevent a pandemic. Today’s report includes a Situation Update from both the CDC and PHAC, as well as...
This Paramedic Chiefs of Canada (PCC) webinar is presented in conjunction with the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED), and FirstWatch. View Webinar Recording View Webinar Slides (PDF Format) Additional Resources Mentioned During the Webinar: COVID-19 Update 2/25/20 Questions and Answers Description: This webinar was the 3rd COVID-19 webinar and provided an update on COVID-19, specifically as it relates to emergency call centers, paramedic and EMS services, and other responders. Also presented, the pediatric implications and...
Executive Summary: The CDC considers this COVID-19 outbreak to be, “an emerging, rapidly evolving situation. The CDC/NIOSH have published a webpage with links to resources for the protection of workers to be used by a variety of industries. Download the pdf
This Paramedic Chiefs of Canada (PCC) webinar is presented in conjunction with the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED), and FirstWatch. View Webinar Recording View Webinar Slides (PDF Format) Additional Resources Mentioned During the Webinar: COVID-19 Update 2/25/20 Questions and Answers Description: This webinar was the 3rd COVID-19 webinar and provided an update on COVID-19, specifically as it relates to emergency call centers, paramedic and EMS services, and other responders. Also presented, the pediatric implications and...
This list of URLs provides current, as of 2/12/20, URL links to both Canadian (PHAC) and American (CDC) COVID-19 Case Definitions, including a rapid use CDC Flowchart for ID and Assessment, CDC Interim EMS and PSAP Guidance, and Interim Guidance for All Health Care Workers. There are also links to Home Pages with links to a wide variety of COVID-19 information, and helpful Appendices from PHAC’s Routine & Additional Precautions Guidelines. Paramedic Chiefs of Canada (PCC) COVID-19 Webinar #2 -...
