Infection-Prevention Lessons From 2021, Predicting the Pandemic’s End

ROSEMONT, ILL.—January 6, 2022—In this episode of BioTalk, a GBACtv production, infection-prevention experts Patty Olinger and Dr. Paul Meechan examine what the cleaning industry learned and what went well (and not so well) in 2021.

In this video, brought to you by Breezy, Olinger and Meechan discuss the necessary layered support behind cleaning, disinfection, and air purification before predicting what it will take to end the pandemic.

Points of interest in this video include:

• Discussion of what the cleaning industry learned as it transitioned from the first pandemic year to the second and now the third
• Details about what went well and what didn’t in 2021
• What we as an industry need to know right now about the state of the pandemic and cleaning protocols
• Why the frequent dismissal of the new omicron variant as “like the common cold” is a dangerous position to take
• Infection-prevention expert information from Global BioRisk Advisory Council representatives.

Patty Olinger is the executive director for GBAC. Prior to joining GBAC, Olinger was an assistant vice president in the Office of Research Administration and the executive director of the Environmental, Health and Safety Office at Emory University. During Olinger’s 13-year tenure, EHSO had university-wide responsibility for all aspects of Environmental, Health and Safety support, including EHS compliance support to Emory Healthcare. This included biosafety support to the Emory Serious Communicable Diseases Unit, which cared for Ebola patients.

Paul Meechan has nearly 30 years of experience in biosafety. A veteran of the pharmaceutical industry, Meechan has also worked for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition to overseeing large scale production facilities and containment labs, he served as president of ABSA International and is the editor of the upcoming sixth-edition of the NIH/CDC Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories, a cornerstone of biosafety practice.

This video is brought to you by our sponsor, Breezy.