Requested actions
- Help prevent additional disease outbreaks.
- Encourage patients to seek in-person healthcare for routine childhood vaccination.
- Provide expedited partner therapy (EPT) for partners of patients with STDs.
- Watch for signs and symptoms of Kawasaki disease in children with prolonged fever.
- Encourage patients to stay home. Gov. Inslee extended the order through May 31. He released a 4-phase plan for reopening the state. Phase 1 began May 5.
Background
Prevent additional disease outbreaks during the COVID-19 pandemic
Childhood vaccination rates in Washington and the United States have declined in 2020—possibly due to fear of exposure to COVID-19 at healthcare facilities.
- Follow CDC’s guidance on prioritizing vaccination of infants and young children.
- Educate patients on the importance of vaccination to prevent disease outbreaks, childhood illness and death.
- Follow DOH’s guidance on giving vaccines safely while protecting patients and staff.
Delaying STD treatment can result in complications like pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility and complicated infections like disseminated gonorrhea.
- Follow DOH’s and CDC’s guidance on adapting STD practices while the need for social distancing persists.
- If your clinic services have not been disrupted, continue to follow recommendations in 2015 STD treatment guidelines and 2020 quality STD clinical services.
- If your clinic now relies on telemedicine, presumptive oral medication treatment is acceptable for uncomplicated symptomatic infections and exposures. Advise patients treated presumptively to get tested as soon as practical and seek medical care if symptoms persist.
- Provide EPT to partners of patients diagnosed with chlamydia or gonorrhea. You can prescribe these medications to patients or their partners. They are covered by health insurance.
Kawasaki disease or pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome during the COVID-19 pandemic
United States, Italy, France, United Kingdom, Spain and Belgium report more children in intensive care exhibiting pathophysiology similar to Kawasaki disease or toxic shock-like illness. Three of the 85 United States cases died. While many of these children tested positive for COVID-19 or its antibodies, it is still unclear if there is a causal link between COVID-19 and this syndrome.
Patient communication
Share these materials with patients.
- What to do if you have COVID-19.
- What to do if you may have been exposed to COVID-19.
- What to do if you have symptoms of COVID-19 and haven’t been exposed or tested.