California employers still can choose to mandate COVID-19 and flu vaccination for their workers with some potential exemptions. A recent California appeals court decision provides guidance for employers who choose to do so.
Patients, visitors and workers not performing clinical procedures are no longer be required to wear face masks in dental offices and other indoor health care settings in California as of April 3 per new guidance from the state Department of Public Health.
New training specifically for California dentists focuses on COVID-19 vaccine administration, patient preparation and documentation and satisfies the 1 unit of C.E. dentists must complete to administer the COVID-19 vaccines.
Cal/OSHA on Jan. 9, 2024, updated its COVID-19 Prevention Non-Emergency Regulations to include changes to definitions and testing recommendations, particularly related to isolation of cases and testing of close contacts.
“Sad or Mad: Fear and Loss of Control in the Pandemic,” an editorial by Kerry K. Carney, DDS, CDE, that appeared in the April 2021 Journal of the California Dental Association, is the first-place recipient of the 2021 William J. Gies Editorial Award.
The California Department of Public Health on Sept. 17 ended the COVID-19 testing mandate for unvaccinated health care workers and other individuals in high-risk settings, which include dental offices.
CDA announces new COVID-19 prevention and vaccine-confidence resources for use in the dental office, including infographics, flyers, vaccination scheduling language and discussion points.
Dentists who received Provider Relief Fund payments during period 3 are required to use those funds on eligible pandemic-related expenses by June 30 and report the use of those funds July 1-Sept. 30 if the payments exceeded $10,000.
When performing or involved with aerosol-generating procedures (open suctioning of airways, sputum induction and others), dental health care personnel should continue to wear NIOSH-approved N95, N95-equivalent or higher-level respirators.
The Oakland City Council passed an ordinance that requires individuals ages 12 and older to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination before they can enter certain indoor places. Dental offices were included in the initial proposal, but the Alameda County Dental Society and local community clinics successfully advocated to have dental offices removed to protect everyone's access to essential dental care.
Dental practices that have been harmed or disadvantaged by the COVID-19 pandemic will find support through CDA-sponsored or supported bills signed into law in recent weeks by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Altogether, the governor signed 14 bills that help dentists practice better and expand access to oral health care.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 8 signed into law CDA-sponsored legislation that allows California-licensed dentists to apply for the requisite laboratory licensure to administer rapid COVID-19 tests in the dental office. The new law also gives dentists permanent authority to administer FDA-approved or FDA-authorized COVID-19 and flu vaccines.
