The U.S. Supreme Court last week blocked one federal vaccination mandate for larger employers and upheld another for specified workers nationwide. But regardless of enforceability, the federal rules apply to very few California dental practices, which instead must comply with the stricter state or local vaccination mandate.

The California Department of Consumer Affairs on Jan. 11 reinstated a waiver that temporarily lets dental professionals in California count recorded lectures as live continuing education as long as the courses are web-based and allow participants to interact with the presenter in real time.

The Cal/OSHA Emergency Temporary Standards are effective today, Jan. 14, with changes including return-to-work criteria based on employee vaccination status and test results. Isolation and quarantine periods range from 0-10 days for health care personnel based on vaccination status and negative test results.