The ANSI Federation and standardization community are stepping up with guidance, resources, and initiatives to support public health, safety, and infrastructure during the COVID-19 outbreak. Suggestions for news items may be submitted to [email protected]. All submissions are published at ANSI's discretion.
ASCE Announces Panelist Discussion on "The Future Impact of COVID-19 on the Commercial Development Market"
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) Global Activities Division (GAD) will host a free panel discussion on "The Future Impact of COVID-19 on the Commercial Development Market" on March 30 at 12:00 - 1:30 p.m. ET.
Panelists will include global leaders from the real estate development/construction industry who will provide insights on the current and future impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the structural engineering profession/construction industry at both local and global levels.
Economist Anirban Basu will moderate the discussion and share valuable business tools for post-pandemic recovery. The event is hosted by GAD with introductions by Anne Ellis, P.E., F.ASCE and made possible by the SEI Futures Fund.
Register or access more details including speaker information on ASCE's website.
ASSP Offers On-Demand Webcast on OSHA's Most Commonly Cited COVID-19 Standards
The American Society of Safety Professionals has released an on-demand webcast with two legal experts highlighting the standards OSHA is citing most frequently during COVID-related inspections.
Legal experts Todd Logsdon and Barry Spurlock discuss why these standards top the list and explain steps organizations can take to comply with OSHA standards to protect workers from COVID-19. The video also covers how OSHA will likely continue to enforce COVID-19 protections under the new administration. Access the on-demand video, in which the experts:
CDC Offers Recommendations on Preventing Needlestick Injuries at Vaccination Sites
As vaccination sites crop up around the country, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) last week issued new recommendations for vaccination site workers and employers to prevent needlestick injuries. The CDC reports that needlestick injuries have the potential to transmit various bloodborne pathogens, and in light of the pandemic, non-traditional vaccination sites—including sports arenas, mobile units, and campus gymnasiums—can pose a challenge to workers administering vaccines in these nontraditional settings.
Read what employers and vaccinators can do to ensure safer vaccinations and reduce the risk of bloodborne pathogens.
NSF International Research Helps to Identify Point-of-Care Diagnostic Tests that Meet World Health Organization Criteria
NSF International, in joint research with Novateur Ventures, has identified several point-of-care (POC) tests that meet the World Health Organization's (WHO) desirable Target Product Profile (TPP) criteria. "POCTs" or near-patient tests can diagnose acute or a prior SARS-CoV-2 infection within minutes. Moreover, as the researchers explain, a proposed "solution" for ending the lockdown is the large-scale utilization of rapid point-of-care diagnostic tests into the current COVID-19 testing, tracking, and tracing strategy.
Researchers have identified 5 direct (antigen/RNA) tests for detection of acute infection and 6 indirect (antibody) tests for detection of prior infection. According to NSF, TPPs outline the desired characteristics of a product aimed at a specific disease. The WHO TPPs can be used to compare key features of COVID‐19 tests and select products that best respond to the public health needs of each region.
“As communities around the world consider expanding existing COVID-19 testing strategies to include large-scale, rapid point-of-care tests, it’s essential for them to understand which tests work best in different situations,” said study co-author Robyn Meurant, executive director of health sciences at NSF International. “Our previous research found significant variability in performance and features of commercially available point-of-care tests, which makes it difficult to select and procure an appropriate test for a specific use case.”
Access more in NSF International's website.
See more ANSI member efforts in the ANSI COVID-19 Resource Webpage Highlighting Standardization Community Response.