Continuing TB Work During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Program Administration
- To focus available resources on the COVID-19 response, DTBE has extended the deadline for switching over to the new RVCT case notification message format to December 31, 2021.
- In recognition of COVID-19 response efforts, DTBE has granted an automatic 30-day extension for the 2015-2019 APR.
TB-COVID-19 Workgroup
The workgroup grew out of a series of NTCA/NSTC-DTBE online meetings starting in August 2020 to gain insight into TB and COVID-19 comorbidities in the U.S. settings by exploring establishment a TB-COVID 19 registry and surveillance. For more about the workgroup, presentations, and current activities, see the workgroup’s web page.
Webinars
TB PPM Learning Network hosted a webinar COVID-19 Coronavirus and Tuberculosis: We Need A Damage Control Plan on World TB Day, 24 March 2020.
Guidance/Policy Documents
Where it is noted that editable Word documents are provided, TB programs may adapt these for their state and local use, removing the authoring programs’ names.
- CDC: COVID mRNA vaccines, TST, and IGRA Dear Colleague letter
- CDC: Tuberculosis and Public Health Emergencies web page
- CDC: Public Health Worker Protections web page
- CDC: Health Departments: Interim Guidance on Developing a COVID-19 Case Investigation & Contact Tracing Plan
- CDC Laboratory Branch: Angela Starks, Chief of Laboratory Branch, DTBE: update on the current status of national TB laboratory services given COVID-19
- TAG: online hub for COVID-19 research and policy content
- Minnesota: Temporary Changes to Tuberculosis Requirments
- Oregon: Guidance for TB programs on providing LTBI and TB disease treatment during COVID-19 response: COVID-19 and TB Services recommendations with editable Word documents for a COVID-19 Messaging and PPE Plan for TB Program Visits and a TB Nurse Care Priorities Matrix
- Texas: Guidance on temporary measures to minimize exposure to COVID-19 for clients and staff on the Response to COVID-19 and an editable Word version of the Texas Tuberculosis Action Plan to Minimize Exposure to COVID-19
- Washington State: TB Echo webinar presentation slides for Evaluating the Eyes During COVID-19 by David Horne. Course materials included versions of the Ishihara tests for the provider and patient and Snellen charts for adults and children.
Articles on the Impact of COVID-19 on TB Care and Prevention
- Parallels and Mutual Lessons in Tuberculosis and COVID-19 Transmission, Prevention, and Control — Philip C. Hopewell, Lee B. Reichman, and Kenneth G. Castro
- COVID-19 Pipeline Report — TAG, PrEP4All, and the COVID-19 NY Working Group
- The Potential Impact of the COVID-19 Response on Tuberculosis in High-Burden Countries: A Modelling Analysis — Stop TB Partnership, Imperial College, Avenir Health, Johns Hopkins University, and USAID
- “COVID-19 and TB: We Need a Damage Control Plan” — Madhu Pai, Forbes
- “The Coronavirus and the Gutting of America’s Public-Health System” – Michael Specter, The New Yorker
- “Transforming Essential Services for Tuberculosis during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons from New York City” — Joseph Burzynski, Michelle Macaraig, Diana Nilsen, Neil Schluger, International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease