The October 2020 issue of the CDA Journal, which explores COVID-19 connections in oral health care and dentistry, has been awarded a Maggie Award in the category of Best Digital Edition or ePublication/Consumer, Trade, Association.
CDA advocacy placed California ahead of the curve for enabling dentists to vaccinate individuals against COVID-19 when the Department of Consumer Affairs granted a public health emergency waiver on Jan. 4. Other states soon followed, passing legislation or issuing waivers and governors’ executive orders that allow dentists to administer the COVID-19 vaccines.
Organized dentistry is making it easier for dentists across California to support COVID-19 vaccination efforts. Local dental societies have been working with local health departments to get dentists and their staff members vaccinated, and dentists are volunteering their time and skills at vaccination clinics in their communities.
The California Department of Public Health on Jan. 21 revised its COVID-19 vaccine training requirements, reducing the number of required courses dentists need to be eligible to administer the vaccine.
Researchers are examining the link between periodontal disease and COVID-19-related respiratory complications, and early research findings suggest that dental professionals may need to shift their focus to preventing underlying conditions, such as periodontitis, that promote systemic inflammation.
Dental professionals will be included in the state’s first-phase distribution of COVID-19 vaccine shots. CDPH expects that all essential health care workers identified in Phase 1a will receive their first dose of the vaccine by the end of January 2021.
The manufacturer of a decontamination system used to decontaminate certain N95 respirators for health care personnel received a warning notice last week from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for “failure to comply with regulatory requirements for medical device reporting.”
Now that Gov. Newsom has eased the statewide stay-at-home order and dentists are beginning to return to practice, CDA's Grassroots Advocacy Days have resumed. In the last weeks, dentists from four component dental societies met with their local legislators or legislative staff through Zoom, the videoconferencing platform.
Graduating California dental school students today received news that WREB and ADEX manikin-based examinations will be accepted for licensure in the state effective immediately.
Understand workplace protections and rules that can help employers navigate the impact of COVID-19 in the workplace and accommodate employees at high risk.
