Letter: Photo neglected vaccination gloves
Khalil Ismael of Amityville, 9, winces as he receives his Hepatitis A vaccine from Dr. Edgar Lerias at Mid Island Pediatric Associates in Farmingdale on Friday, Aug. 5. Credit: Barry Sloan
Regarding the piece "Time to check on shots" [News, Aug. 6], the point of the article was to prevent communicable diseases. Unfortunately, the accompanying photograph depicts a lapse in standard medical practice insofar as universal precautions: the vaccinating health care professional was not wearing gloves.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention insists that absolute adherence to proper infection control practices be maintained during the preparation and administration of injected medications.
I'm sure that posing for Newsday can cause even the most conscientious health care professional to forget the routine, but for the rest of us who are administering shots in private, let this serve as a reminder to adhere to infection-control practices.
Dr. Howard R. Sussman, Stony Brook
Editor's note: The writer is an associate professor of clinical family medicine at the Stony Brook University Medical Center.
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