COVID-19

02 April

Updated COVID-19 Reopening Guide for veterinary practices available now

wsvma   |   COVID-19, State Regulatory

In response to loosening restrictions, the WSVMA is releasing an updated version of COVID-19: A Guide to Reopening Veterinary Medicine in Washington – Phase 3 to give additional information for practices as more people become vaccinated and counties begin to allow more people to gather. The guide, written by well-known expert Scott Weese, DVM, DVSc, DACVIM in partnership with the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association, lays out a comprehensive plan to implement appropriate measures to continue ensuring the health and safety of both veterinary...

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02 April

WSVMA DVM: COVID-19 Webinar – Ensuring Practices Flourish: Transitioning from Pandemic to Post-Pandemic Operations

wsvma   |   Continuing Education, COVID-19

Join us Tuesday, April 13, 2021, at 12 pm for our webinar Ensuring Practices Flourish: Transitioning from Pandemic to Post-Pandemic Operations with Darren Osborne. The veterinary recovery that occurred in the latter half of 2020—following the first pandemic shutdown—was nothing short of meteoric. Practices initially reacted to the shutdown with a “nobody move until this goes away” attitude but quickly surveyed the big picture and launched one of the most successful operational pivots imaginable. The transition from classic service/retail to telemedicine,...

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26 March

A One Health approach to infection prevention and control on animal farms to address COVID-19 and other infections

wsvma   |   COVID-19, One Health

Created by the University of Washington's Center for One Health Research, Harborview Medical Center, and the Northwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety Continuing Education Program, training modules have been developed to assist the process of creating and implementing infection prevention and control plans on animal farms that will control COVID-19 as well as other infectious diseases important for both human and animal health. Through workplace hazard identification, control and evaluation, and integration of occupational medicine services, such programs can...

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19 March

Washington veterinarians and veterinary students as COVID-19 vaccine administrators

wsvma   |   COVID-19, State Regulatory

Due to dedicated efforts by the AVMA, veterinarians and veterinary students are now authorized to administer COVID-19 vaccines to human patients in all 50 states under the PREP Act. As the federal government anticipates significantly ramping up vaccine allocation as additional vaccines become available, there is a need to have a cadre of authorized volunteers to assist with vaccine administration. The WSVMA has discussed this with the WA State Dept. of Health (DOH) and the following information is provided. Veterinarians (both with...

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12 March

Washington moves into new vaccine phase

wsvma   |   COVID-19

Gov. Inslee announced that starting Wednesday, March 17, everyone in Phase 1B, Tier 2 will be eligible for their COVID vaccine. This includes workers in agriculture, food processing, grocery stores, public transit, firefighters, and law enforcement, among others. Phase 1B, Tier 2 also includes people over the age of 16 who are pregnant or have a disability that puts them at high-risk. The WSVMA continues to advocate for veterinary professionals to be vaccinated as soon as possible and is currently awaiting...

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12 March

Why Ivermectin should not be used to treat or prevent COVID-19 in humans

wsvma   |   COVID-19

There seems to be a growing interest in a drug called ivermectin to treat humans with COVID-19. Ivermectin is often used in the U.S. to treat or prevent parasites in animals.  The FDA has received multiple reports of patients who have required medical support and been hospitalized after self-medicating with ivermectin intended for horses. About people taking Ivermectin FDA has not approved ivermectin for use in treating or preventing COVID-19 in humans. Ivermectin tablets are approved at very specific doses for...

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05 March

SARS-CoV-2 updates and testing guidance for veterinarians

wsvma   |   COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is thought to spread mainly through close contact from person to person, including between people who are physically near each other (within about 6 feet). When people with COVID-19 cough, sneeze, sing, talk, or breathe they produce respiratory droplets. These droplets can range in size from larger droplets to smaller droplets, and small droplets can also form particles when they dry very quickly in the airstream. With passing time, the amount of infectious virus...

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11 February

COVID-19 vaccine distribution update from the WA State Dept. of Health

wsvma   |   COVID-19

The WA State Dept. of Health (DOH) reports that they continue to make progress with COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration efforts. As of Feb. 6, more than 940,000 doses of vaccine have been given across the state, which is nearly 80% of the 1,195,207 doses that have been delivered to providers and long-term care programs. Washington is currently averaging 26,857 vaccine doses given each day. This information can be found on the DOH data dashboard under the vaccines tab, which is...

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11 February

New data offer deeper insight into COVID-19 impact on practices

wsvma   |   COVID-19

New data provide greater detail on how veterinary practices have been affected by and responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. Anyone in the veterinary community can explore this data in the AVMA’s interactive dashboard, as well as download an in-depth report with analysis and insights from AVMA economists. Compiled from two large surveys of veterinary practices, the dashboard now aggregates more than 3,500 responses to questions covering operational changes, client numbers, use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other supplies, financial impact, and other...

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29 January

COVID-19 vaccine update

wsvma   |   COVID-19

The news hasn’t changed for Washington veterinary professionals waiting to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Veterinarians and their teams are still not in the queue within any of the phases of vaccine administration. The WSVMA has been in touch again with the Department of Health and we’re still being advised that they don’t know when a determination will be made. AVMA reported earlier this week that through their federal advocacy efforts, “the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued...

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