WATERTOWN, Mass., Oct. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A series of new studies underscores the alarming toll that COVID-19 takes on frontline nurses and, ultimately, their families. The studies show that patient-facing nurses and their households have a three- and two-fold increased risk of COVID-19 hospitalization, respectively. Based on this mounting body of scientific evidence, and compounded by a severe thermometer shortage, Exergen Corporation, makers of the Exergen TemporalScanner, has announced a program to ensure that every nurse in the country has access to purchasing a TemporalScanner. The Exergen TemporalScanner is the most accurate thermometer, proven by more than 80 peer-reviewed published clinical studies, and is used in hospitals and clinics nationwide.
“When it comes to fighting COVID-19, nurses and their families need and deserve the highest level of protection, beginning with taking temperature twice daily at home,” said Dr. Francesco Pompei, Ph.D. and CEO of Exergen Corporation. “As a longtime supporter of nurses, our mission is to provide them access to the most accurate thermometer available, especially given the shortages we’ve been facing since COVID-19 hit.”
An important study1 in medRxiv, pending peer review, sought to determine how many patient-facing healthcare workers (e.g., nurses) in high-risk settings contracted and transmitted the novel coronavirus. Prior to this study, the risk was poorly understood. It concluded that frontline nurses had a three-fold risk of COVID-19 hospitalization, and their family members had a two-fold risk over the general population.
Data2 published by the National Institutes of Health shows that among U.S. healthcare personnel with COVID-19, nurses are disproportionately affected. They account for about 30% of cases, despite contributing only about 15% of the healthcare workforce. Another study3, published in Lancet Public Health, shows that frontline healthcare nurses are at an increased risk for reporting a positive COVID-19 test, compared to the general public.
In concert with its Nurse Support Program, Exergen Corporation has launched a “Twice Daily” educational campaign, showing that checking temperature only in the morning is not sufficient to detect a fever, and that it must be taken twice a day. Due to circadian effects, up to half of all fevers are missed in the morning, but none are missed in the evening, making dinnertime ideal for a second daily scan.
Exergen has released an educational video to communicate why taking your temperature twice daily should be the new normal, just like wearing a mask and practicing social distancing. The company has also developed educational materials, which can be found, along with more than 80 peer-reviewed clinical studies that support Exergen’s accuracy, on Exergen’s website. For more information on the “Twice Daily” campaign, visit: https://www.exergen.com/twicedaily
ABOUT EXERGEN CORPORATION
Exergen manufactures and markets two series of the TemporalScanner thermometer: a professional version for hospitals and clinics, and a consumer version sold in major retailers nationwide. More than two billion temperatures are taken each year with TemporalScanners. Used in thousands of hospitals and clinics across the country as well as in millions of homes, TemporalScanners are the #1 preference of pediatricians, #1 preference of nurses and #1 selling retail thermometer. The Exergen TemporalScanner’s accuracy is supported by more than 80 peer-reviewed published studies covering all ages from preterm infants to geriatrics and all care areas from hospitals to homes. For additional information, visit www.exergen.com.
1 Shah et al. Risk of hospitalization with coronavirus disease 2019 in healthcare workers and their households: a nationwide linkage cohort study. medRxiv. 2020 Aug 4. doi: 10.1101/2020.08.03.20164897
2 Chou et al. Update Alert 4: Epidemiology of and Risk Factors for Coronavirus Infection in Health Care Workers. American College of Physicians Public Health Emergency Collection. 2020 Sep 11. doi: 10.7326/L20-1134
3 Nguyen et al. Risk of COVID-19 among front-line health-care workers and the general community: a prospective cohort study. Lancet Public Health. 2020 Jul 31. doi: 10.1016/ S2468-2667(20)30164-X
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