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ISEA Honors Dr. Anthony Fauci with Distinguished Service Award Honoring Public Health Service
In recognition of his significant impact in the safety and health field, the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) presented its Robert G. Hurley Distinguished Service Award to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
Dr. Fauci, who announced his retirement earlier this year, was advisor to seven U.S. presidents and their administrations on global HIV/AIDS issues and was a leader and expert in infectious disease public health preparedness for over four decades. He has served as the face of the scientific community during emerging diseases such as Ebola and Zika, and throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
“This year, ISEA is not only recognizing Dr. Fauci’s decades-long public service that began in 1984, but also his dedication to informing the public about ways to keep safe from disease and other public health risks.”
ISEA commended Dr. Fauci’s advice throughout the COVID pandemic to wear facemasks and respirators to help prevent spread, particularly for America’s frontline healthcare workers.
“I have always been an advocate for proper PPE,” said Dr. Fauci in his acceptance speech during ISEA’s awards dinner. He recalled his early career experiences caring for HIV and Ebola patients, when he wore “the absolute necessity of full PPE.” He added, “We need you working and innovating in lockstep with the public health community as we confront the continual challenge of future immerging and reemerging infectious diseases. Please keep up your great work.”
Read more about the award in ISEA’s news coverage.
CDC Releases Real World Vaccine Effectiveness Research
New real-world vaccine effectiveness (VE) data on the new omicron vaccines find that they are better at preventing symptomatic COVID infections than the earlier doses, according to new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) research.
“Among symptomatic adults who received testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection at pharmacies nationwide during September 14–November 11, 2022, bivalent mRNA vaccines provided additional protection against infection compared with previous vaccination with 2, 3, or 4 monovalent vaccines alone,” the CDC reported. “Findings from this real-world VE study indicate that the bivalent formulations authorized in the United States provide additional protection when administered to persons who previously received 2, 3, or 4 doses of monovalent mRNA vaccines.”
The CDC findings support the current COVID-19 vaccination policy recommending a bivalent booster dose for adults who have completed at least a primary mRNA vaccination series, regardless of the number of monovalent doses previously received.
Access additional research findings on the CDC website.
See more ANSI member efforts in the ANSI COVID-19 Resource Webpage Highlighting Standardization Community Response.