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Hello- you’re receiving this email because you indicated interest in receiving information about the CDC’s updates to infection control guidance and the process at the CDC’s Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee. Two items for you:

1. An invitation to sign a letter asking CDC to hold public meetings to more effectively engage the range of stakeholders in updating health care infection control guidance.

The full text of the sign-on letter to CDC can be viewed here. The deadline to sign is Monday September 18. The letter can be signed at this link.

I am writing to ask you to join a letter to CDC Director Mandy Cohen calling upon CDC to hold public meetings on CDC’s update of the guidelines on Isolation Precautions: Preventing Transmission of Infectious Agents in Healthcare Settings in order to seek input and involvement from a wider range of experts, stakeholders and the public in the development of the guidelines.

Currently CDC is relying exclusively on its Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC)- composed primarily of infection control and prevention staff from hospitals - to update the guidelines through a process that is non-transparent and essentially closed to the public. The draft CDC/HICPAC's proposals that have been shared publicly so far would weaken existing CDC infection control recommendations on ventilation, respiratory protection, and other issues.

CDC and HICPAC have excluded key experts and stakeholders – including experts in occupational health, industrial hygiene, aerosol science, ventilation, engineering, respiratory protection, and direct care health care workers, unions, and patient advocates in the development process.

In July 2023, a group of nearly 900 public health experts with over 1,000 public supporters to send a letter to CDC Director, Dr. Mandy Cohen, detailing our concerns with HICPAC/CDC's process and proposed updates. The CDC's response made it clear that they have NO intention of opening-up the guideline development process, and will only seek input from the public, stakeholders and other experts after HICPAC develops, adopts and sends the recommended guidelines to CDC. This is too late.

Therefore, we are calling upon CDC to hold public meetings to seek input from all key experts and stakeholders before developing the guidelines ahead of any HICPAC votes, as they did in developing updated Guidelines on Preventing the Transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Health-Care Facilities  in the 1990’s.

Please join us and sign this letter to CDC Director, Dr. Mandy Cohen, urging CDC to hold public meetings to get input from and involve all stakeholders and experts in occupational health, public health, aerosol science, ventilation, respiratory protection, and public health in updating the infection control guidelines. DEADLINE TO SIGN IS FRI, SEPT 16.

The form for signing the letter is here: https://forms.gle/zP4nDNAPSYtt86M16

Please also forward to others who may be interested.

2. If you would like to receive further updates on this campaign, please sign up here: https://act.nnu.org/signup/welcome-nan/

The NNU Nurse Advocacy Network is a volunteer coalition of nurses, other health care workers, patients, and community supporters who mobilize for patient care protections and health care justice. We work to hold our elected officials, health care employers, and other decision-makers accountable for the health and safety of our communities.

No activism experience is necessary – we will provide you with the training, tools, and resources to help you be successful- and you don’t need to be a health care worker to join!

Thanks for your support!

In solidarity,

Jane

pronouns: she/her/hers