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. 2024 Sep 26;79(3):585-587.
doi: 10.1093/cid/ciae276.

Doff Thy Gown-Shedding Contact Precautions for COVID-19

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Doff Thy Gown-Shedding Contact Precautions for COVID-19

Alexander S Rabin et al. Clin Infect Dis. .

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 is predominantly transmitted through aerosols (ie, airborne transmission); however, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continue to recommend the use of contact precautions (a gown and gloves) for the care of patients with COVID-19. Infection-prevention guidelines should reflect the current science and eliminate this wasteful practice.

Keywords: COVID-19; climate change; contact precautions; infection prevention and control; sustainability.

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Conflict of interest statement

Potential conflicts of interest . The authors: No reported conflicts of interest. All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed.

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