The companion animal Ontario Animal Health Network has produced a series of mini-podcasts on COVID-19 precautions in veterinary clinics, featuring none other than Dr. Scott Weese. Each mini-podcast features a quick 3-5 minute “lighting round” on common questions and topics – bite-sized bits for busy practitioners and clinic staff who may only have a
Update: Ontario Veterinary Clinic COVID-19 Guidance Document (January 2021)
Here’s the latest version of our pandemic guidance document for Ontario veterinary clinics, produced in collaboration with the OVMA. Previously entitled “A guide to reopening veterinary medicine in Ontario” it has been retitled “A guide to mitigating the risk of infection in veterinary practices during the COVID-19 pandemic (04-Jan-2021)“.
Previous versions of the
Survey of COVID-19 and Animal Workers
The UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, is seeking volunteers to participate in their Veterinary and Zoonotic Surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) and Other Coronaviruses Study. Their goals are to assess potential exposures to SARS-CoV-2 and other zoonotic pathogens among veterinary and animal healthcare workers, as well as clinical symptoms, mental health,
Updated Veterinary COVID-19 Guidelines
As things change, both in the epidemiology of COVID-19 and our approach to containment, re-assessment of how we practice veterinary medicine and COVID-19 protection is important. The latest iteration of our guidance document has been released: COVID-19: A Guide to Reopening Veterinary Medicine in Ontario, Stage 3. As for the previous versions, this is
Veterinary Clinic Access and COVID-19 Risks
I get a lot of emails about vet clinic access from a wide spectrum of individuals. This includes:
- Owners who are upset they aren’t allowed in the clinic with their pet
- Owners who are worried that their vet clinic isn’t doing enough to prevent transmission of COVID-19
- Vets who want to know how to increase
Canadian Veterinary Industry Visitation Guidelines
As we move forward in the COVID-19 era, a lot of things need to be done differently. We’ve written a lot about procedures in veterinary clinics to maximize distancing and protection while minimizing the impact on patient care. Many ancillary issues have also come up, including limiting or managing people other than clients going into
Updated Ontario Veterinary Practice Guidance for the COVID-19 Era
The title says it all, I guess. Here is the updated OVMA Guide to Reopening Veterinary Medicine in Ontario, Stage 2, hot of the press. It can also be accessed from the Worms & Germs COVID-19 Veterinary Resources page.
Veterinary COVID-19 Infection Control Q&A
Here’s a bit of an odd-and-ends post covering some common questions I’ve been getting about COVID-19 and infection control in veterinary clinics. As always, answers are based on little or no evidence, but on principles of infection control, and they may change as we learn more and as this pandemic continues to evolve.
Would it
Veterinary Clinic Staff Cohorting
One concept that we’ve recommended for COVID-19 control in veterinary clinics is staff cohorting. That involves keeping staff groups together to limit the risk of transmission should someone be infected. If groups (i.e. shifts, or teams that stick together and don’t interact with others) are formed, any single infected person would have contact with a
Occupational exposure risks with COVID-19
We’ve spent a lot of timing working on various recommendations for managing COVID-19 risks in veterinary practice. They’re mainly focused on the most biohazardous species with which veterinary personnel work on a daily basis: humans. While we’re still sorting through animal-related issues, the main emphasis is reducing exposure risk from people, and a recent