Another year is behind us, and what a year it was. Let's look back at what happened with infection prevention and control during 2020 in this special edition of the ICCS Infection Prevention & Control Newsletter, beginning with a section dedicated to the biggest development of the year.

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WHO Statement Regarding Cluster of Pneumonia Cases in Wuhan, China — On January 9, WHO issued its first statement concerning what would become the COVID-19 pandemic.

First Travel-Related Case of 2019 Novel Coronavirus Detected in United States — On January 21, CDC confirmed that a Washington resident was the first person in the US with a confirmed case of the novel coronavirus.

Secretary Azar Declares Public Health Emergency for United States for 2019 Novel Coronavirus — At the end of January, HHS declared a public health emergency for the entire US. The announcement came around the same time that WHO declared a global health emergency, among many other developments.

CMS: Review Infection Prevention and Control Policies and Practices Now — In mid-February, CMS issued a memo reminding healthcare facilities about the importance of compliance with infection control practices as the spread of COVID-19 continued.

WHO Declares COVID-19 a Pandemic — On March 11, WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Two days later, the novel coronavirus was declared a US national emergency. This was occurring as dangerous myths about prevention of and treatment for the COVID-19 were circulating and increasing in intensity.

California Becomes First to Issue Statewide Stay-at-Home Order — On March 19, California became the first state to issue a stay-at-home order and direct healthcare systems to prioritize services to the sickest patients.

United States COVID-19 Death Toll Surpasses 100,000 — On March 28, CDC announced that the number of people in the US who had died from COVID-19 surpassed 100,000.

States Rolling Out Mandates for Long-Term Care Facilities — In the summer, we began to see states rolling out COVID-19 mandates for long-term care facilities as CMS began resuming inspections, indicated plans for its own expansion of requirements, and increased noncompliance penalties.

FDA Issues EUA for First COVID-19 Vaccine — On December 11, FDA issued the first emergency use authorization to the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. A few days later, the FDA issued its second EUA to the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

First Coronavirus Vaccine Shots Given Outside Trials In U.S. — In between the issuing of the EUAs, Sandra Lindsay became the first American to receive the coronavirus vaccine outside a clinical trial.

Note: The stories shared above represent a fraction of 2020's most significant developments concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. AJMC and NBC News are among the publications and organizations maintaining timelines about the pandemic that identify other substantial announcements and developments. While COVID-19 was undoubtedly the defining story of 2020, there were a number of unrelated, yet still significant infection prevention and control developments from 2020 to know.

Future of Infection Prevention: Q&A With Consultant Phenelle Segal — ICCS Founder Phenelle Segal answered 10 questions concerning the future of infection prevention in the COVID-19 era.

FDA: Stop Using Certain Cardinal Health Surgical Gowns, Packs — Early in the year, the FDA advised providers to discontinue use of certain Cardinal Health surgical gowns and PreSource procedural packs that included the surgical gowns because of possible contamination. Cardinal initiated a recall around the same time. While the company sought to address its shortages, the recall was further magnified by the PPE shortages that surged during the pandemic.

WHO Urgent Challenges List Includes Infectious Diseases, Anti-Microbial Resistance — WHO issued its "urgent health challenges for the next decade" list. Included on the list: "stopping infectious diseases" and "protecting the medicines that protect us," which focuses on anti-microbial resistance.

KHN: Nursing Homes Struggling With 'Basic Infection Prevention Protocols' — A Kaiser Health News report highlighted the struggles of many nursing homes around the country with following "basic infection prevention protocols," with a federal records analysis revealing that about 61% of all such facilities were cited for one or more infection-control deficiencies since the beginning of 2017.

Infection Prevention Standards Challenge AAAHC-Accredited Facilities — Infection prevention and safe injection practice standards continued to be among those with high deficiency percentages for organizations accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care.

Joint Commission Infection Control Standards: Most Challenging for Accredited Ambulatory Healthcare Organizations — The Joint Commission identified its most challenging standards for accredited ambulatory healthcare organizations in 2019, with infection control standards as the most and second most challenging for the year.

ECRI: Sterile Processing, Antimicrobial Stewardship Top Patient Safety Concerns — Challenges concerning sterile processing and antimicrobial stewardship appeared on the ECRI Institute's "Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns for Healthcare Organizations 2020" report.

High Infection, Injury Rates Lead to Medicare Penalties for Several U.S. News' 'Best Hospitals' — As this report showed, every facility — no matter how many awards or recognitions its earned — has room for improvement concerning infection prevention and control.

Unsafe Injection Practices Endanger Thousands of Patients — A study revealed that nearly 67,000 patients were notified about potential exposure to unsafe injection practices by healthcare personnel between 2012 and 2018.

New S. aureus Guidelines for NICU — CDC issued new recommendations for the prevention and control of Staphylococcus aureus, including MRSA and MSSA, in infants in neonatal intensive care units.

Study: Doctors’ Phones Too Often Contaminated by MRSA — This study served as a helpful reminder about the importance of cleaning and disinfecting our mobile technology.

10 of the Scariest Healthcare Infections and Threats (2020 Edition) — ICCS produced its second annual list of scariest healthcare infections and threats to coincide with Halloween.

Special Report: What to Know About Standard Precautions — Early in the year, the ICCS team issued a special report that took a deep dive into the concept of "standard precautions."