CDC chief endorses COVID booster shots for nursing home residents, healthcare workers
By
Alicia Lasek
Sep 24, 2021
Older and medically compromised adults and workers in high-risk settings should be offered third doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, M.D., said early Friday. Her decision...
Pandemic isolation has led to more falls among seniors, online survey finds
By
Alicia Lasek
Sep 21, 2021
For some seniors, pandemic isolation has created a perfect storm of physical inactivity and deconditioning that has resulted in increased falls risk and greater fear of falling, researchers say.
Clinical briefs for Tuesday, Sept. 21
By
Alicia Lasek
Sep 21, 2021
Humana reports rise in seniors’ COVID hospitalizations … Moderna shot leads pack at preventing COVID hospitalization, CDC finds … Experts unsure what flu has in store for this season … Drug combo...
Nursing homes, feds hide sky-high antipsychotic use with dubious diagnoses: report
By
Alicia Lasek
Sep 20, 2021
At least one-fifth of nursing home residents are taking the drugs, many for schizophrenia, a diagnosis that has skyrocketed in these settings since 2012, a new investigation finds.
Vaccine potency wanes, but third COVID shot restores 95 percent efficacy, new data show
By
Alicia Lasek
Sep 16, 2021
New data from vaccine maker Pfizer and Israel’s health ministry may help U.S. health agencies make a case for recommending COVID-19 booster shots, various sources report.
Dehydration plagues nursing home residents with COVID in facility study
By
Alicia Lasek
Sep 16, 2021
Clinically significant dehydration is very common among residents with COVID-19 — especially those with dementia or delirium, investigators found. Care providers should be ready with IV fluids and a...
$2M virtual reality trial to gauge impact on senior living residents with dementia
By
Alicia Lasek
Aug 20, 2021
The Phase II trial will evaluate how virtual family engagement affects quality of life for 400 older adults in 12 U.S. long-term care communities.
National survey tells story of COVID in assisted living
By
Alicia Lasek
Aug 19, 2021
New industry data from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics details how COVID-19 affected assisted living communities across the country during the height of the pandemic.
VA will not add Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm to its formulary
By
Alicia Lasek
Aug 12, 2021
The Department of Veterans Affairs has chosen not to include aducanumab (Aduhelm) in its national list of covered drugs, citing risk of adverse events and lack of evidence of positive impact on cognition,...
New cases of antifungal-resistant yeast infections in nursing homes alarm CDC
By
Alicia Lasek
Jul 26, 2021
For the first time, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention has identified U.S. nursing home residents and hospital patients with candida auris yeast infections that resist all first-line antifungal...