Plan your vaccine booster clinics now, LeadingAge entreats LTC operators
By
Alicia Lasek
Aug 25, 2021
With infections now surging in parts of the United States, facility operators can begin taking steps to offer third COVID-19 vaccine doses to eligible staff and residents in anticipation of a federal go-ahead,...
COVID vaccines lost some effectiveness in delta surge, ongoing CDC study finds
By
Alicia Lasek
Aug 25, 2021
The three federally sanctioned COVID vaccines have lost a “moderate” amount of effectiveness against SARS-CoV-19 ever since the delta gene variant became the predominant U.S. strain, the agency reports.
New dashboard to track ‘Long COVID’ cases for healthcare planning
By
Alicia Lasek
Aug 25, 2021
The dashboard will track state and county level statistics and trends. The goal is to provide data to healthcare decision makers as they prepare to care for patients with lingering symptoms, says the American...
Clinical briefs for Wednesday, Aug. 25
By
Alicia Lasek
Aug 25, 2021
Training not enough to reduce hospitalization, ED visits in end-of-life care … Breakthrough infections may be less transmissible, study in healthcare workers suggests … Wider vaccine approvals on the...
LTC clinicians cheer pandemic milestone: Federal approval of first COVID-19 vaccine
By
Alicia Lasek
Sep 24, 2021
Long-term care clinicians are embracing the FDA’s first full approval of a COVID-19 vaccine, saying the decision will support their efforts to increase vaccination coverage and reduce infections and...
Delayed recognition may account for high COVID death rate in Black seniors, doc warns
By
Alicia Lasek
Aug 24, 2021
Clinicians should be on high alert for COVID-19 in older Black patients presenting with symptoms not consistent with common diseases, a well-known geriatrician contends.
OSHA’s COVID-19-related standards ‘burdensome,’ ‘duplicative,’ senior living execs say
By
Kimberly Bonvissuto
Aug 23, 2021
New federal workplace safety rules, although well-intentioned, are burdensome and do not account for frequently changing guidance from other agencies, according to senior living association executives.
Clinical briefs for Tuesday, Aug. 24
By
Alicia Lasek
Aug 24, 2021
New ethics standards published for dementia caregivers … Parkinson’s disease quality measurement set update released … Early, awake prone positioning reduces intubation risk in acute COVID patients:...
Pandemic persists in nursing homes with low vax rates; case counts rising, NIC analyst says
By
Alicia Lasek
Aug 23, 2021
Half of the U.S. skilled nursing facilities with newly confirmed COVID-19 cases in early August had staff vaccination rates 12% below the national average, new data show. At the same time, overall per-resident...
Newly identified ‘auto-antibody’ mechanism may play key role in seniors’ COVID deaths
By
Alicia Lasek
Aug 23, 2021
The finding may explain why some people — and notably older adults — suffer more severe COVID-19 illness than others. The discovery has implications for treatment timing and vaccination, investigators...