SummaryWhen a novel influenza A virus with pandemic potential emerges, nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) often are the most readily available interventions to help slow transmission of the virus in communities, which is especially important before a pandemic vaccine becomes widely available. NPIs, also known as community mitigation measures, are actions that persons and communities can take to help slow the spread of respiratory virus infections, including seasonal and pandemic influenza viruses.These guidelines replace the 2007 Interim Pre-pandemic Planning Guidance: Community Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Mitigation in the United States — Early, Targeted, Layered Use of Nonpharmaceutical Interventions (https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/11425). Several elements remain unchanged from the 2007 guidance, which described recommended NPIs and the supporting rationale and key concepts for the use of these interventions during influenza pandemics. NPIs can be phased in, or layered, on the basis of pandemic severity and local transmission patterns over time. Categories of NPIs include personal protective measures for everyday use (e.g., voluntary home isolation of ill persons, respiratory etiquette, and hand hygiene); personal protective measures reserved for influenza pandemics (e.g., voluntary home quarantine of exposed household members and use of face masks in community settings when ill); community measures aimed at increasing social distancing (e.g., school closures and dismissals, social distancing in workplaces, and postponing or cancelling mass gatherings); and environmental measures (e.g., routine cleaning of frequently touched surfaces).Several new elements have been incorporated into the 2017 guidelines. First, to support updated recommendations on the use of NPIs, the latest scientific evidence available since the influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 pandemic has been added. Second, a summary of lessons learned from the 2009 H1N1 pandemic response is presented to underscore the importance of broad and flexible prepandemic planning. Third, a new section on community engagement has been included to highlight that the timely and effective use of NPIs depends on community acceptance and active participation. Fourth, to provide new or updated pandemic assessment and planning tools, the novel influenza virus pandemic intervals tool, the Influenza Risk Assessment Tool, the Pandemic Severity Assessment Framework, and a set of prepandemic planning scenarios are described. Finally, to facilitate implementation of the updated guidelines and to assist states and localities with prepandemic planning and decision-making, this report links to six supplemental prepandemic NPI planning guides for different community settings that are available online (https://www.cdc.gov/nonpharmaceutical-interventions).

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Background Podcasting has become a popular medium for medical education content. Educators and trainees of all levels are turning to podcasts for high-quality, asynchronous content. Although numerous medical education podcasts have emerged in recent years, few student-run podcasts exist. Student-run podcasts are a novel approach to supporting medical students. Near-peer mentoring has been shown to promote medical students’ personal and professional identity formation. Student-run podcasts offer a new medium for delivering near-peer advice to medical students in an enduring and accessible manner. Objective This paper describes the creation of the UnsCripted Medicine Podcast—a student-run medical education podcast produced at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Methods The planning and preparatory phases spanned 6 months. Defining a target audience and establishing a podcast mission were key first steps. Efforts were directed toward securing funding; obtaining necessary equipment; and navigating the technical considerations of recording, editing, and publishing a podcast. In order to ensure that high professionalism standards were met, key partnerships were created with faculty from the College of Medicine. Results The UnsCripted Medicine Podcast published 53 episodes in its first 2 years. The number of episodes released per month ranges from 0 to 5, with a mean of 2.0 episodes. The podcast has a Twitter account with 217 followers. The number of listeners who subscribed to the podcast via Apple Podcasts grew to 86 in the first year and then to 218 in the second year. The show has an average rating of 4.8 (out of 5) on Apple Podcasts, which is based on 24 ratings. The podcast has hosted 70 unique guests, including medical students, resident physicians, attending physicians, nurses, physicians’ family members, graduate medical education leadership, and educators. Conclusions Medical student–run podcasts are a novel approach to supporting medical students and fostering professional identity formation. Podcasts are widely available and convenient for listeners. Additionally, podcast creators can publish content with lower barriers of entry compared to those of other forms of published content. Medical schools should consider supporting student podcast initiatives to allow for near-peer mentoring, augment the community, facilitate professional identity formation, and prepare the rising physician workforce for the technological frontier of medical education and practice.

Aim Infection prevention and control (IPC) within residential settings is a central focus of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Youth residential summer camps are an excellent model for such environments and have thus far had mixed results. The aim of this report was to describe the successful implementation of a seven-week overnight summer camp with rapid return to normal activities from June to August 2020. Subjects and methods This retrospective study included 427 individuals who traveled from 24 US states. All staff and campers were tested by serial nasopharyngeal PCR tests in the context of strict infection prevention and control (IPC) measures, including cohorts and masking. The entire camp population was isolated from non-camp personnel with special measures for food, supply, and mail delivery. Results During the two-week staff session, one staff member tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, was isolated, and sent safely off premises. All other campers and staff had three negative PCR tests: 1–8 days before arrival, upon arrival, and 5–6 days after arrival. After these three negative tests, 6 days into camp, most IPCs, including masking, were successfully lifted and a normal camp experience was possible. Conclusions These findings indicate that serial PCR-based testing and strict adherence to IPC measures among cohorts can allow for successful assumption of near normal group activities in a residential setting during the COVID-19 pandemic. This result at an overnight summer camp has broad implications for similar residential communities such as boarding schools, other youth education and development programs, as well as nursing homes and military installations.

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