PIDS continues to work to provide links to COVID-19 resources. Our sources include those provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and other organizations. COVID-19 updates and resources can also be found on the JPIDS website.
If a patient is suspected of having COVID-19, follow the CDC Interim Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Patients with Suspected or Confirmed Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Healthcare Settings. See additional details on infection prevention and control in the pediatric ambulatory setting by visiting our partner, AAP policy statement.
You can prepare to handle suspected cases in your patient population in the same way you prepare for other respiratory infection outbreaks, such as influenza or RSV. The same principles apply:
Vaccinate Your Family has developed a set of materials to help educate policymakers and the public about the importance of routine vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic has raised additional challenges regarding upcoming school entry for vulnerable children, including solid organ transplantation (SOT) recipients. In response to mounting questions from families and SOT providers, a group of PIDS pediatric transplant ID physicians in collaboration with specialists with expertise in infection prevention, public health, and transplant psychology, convened to construct an expert opinion consensus statement regarding key considerations that providers and families can use as a framework when considering individual risk and shared decision-making about returning to school (K-12) this fall.
The statement summarizes available evidence, best practices, and consensus recommendations around key questions including:
The full document is available online at the website of JPIDS (https://academic.oup.com/jpids/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jpids/piaa095/5880566) and has been supported by the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS), Society of Pediatric Liver Transplantation (SPLIT), the Starzl Network for Excellence in Pediatric Transplantation, the Pediatric Heart Transplant Society (PHTS), the Advanced Cardiac Therapies Improving Outcomes Network (ACTION), Improving Renal Outcomes Collaborative (IROC), American Society of Transplantation (AST), and the organization of Transplant Families. A summary FAQ document has also been made available for patients and families (below).
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has created many questions about returning to school for pediatric solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients and their families. While the risk of getting COVID-19 in school will never be zero when COVID-19 cases are present in a community, a team of pediatric transplant infectious diseases experts have provided information to help families make decisions with their transplant teams about school attendance for their child who has received a SOT (liver, lung, kidney, heart, or pancreas). These recommendations are focused on K-12th grade. When reviewing this document, it should be remembered that:
Download the return to school for SOT FAQ sheet for families
Download the back to school safety tips for SOT recipients
Open Letter from Stanford University regarding Dr. Scott Atlas
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