APIC expert urges mask-wearing in LTC, despite guidance switch
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 04, 2022
Despite a recent shift in CDC guidance, now is not the right time for long-term care providers to relax masking and other source control use, says infection preventionist Deb Burdsall of APIC.
FDA set to approve two COVID-19 antiviral pills this week
By
Alicia Lasek
Dec 22, 2021
FDA is expected to grant emergency use authorization to two antiviral COVID-19 pills this week, possibly as early as today, according to Bloomberg News, citing sources familiar with the matter.
White House: COVID treatments should be part of ‘routine’ clinical care at nursing homes
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 11, 2022
Nursing homes are on the front lines of not just preventing COVID-19, but also increasingly treating it, as more deaths from the disease shift from hospitals to that setting, officials say.
CDC: Two booster shots cut severe COVID risk in nursing home residents by 74 percent
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 03, 2022
Nursing home residents who received a second mRNA booster shot during omicron were much less likely to suffer severe COVID-19 outcomes than their peers who received only one dose, a new study shows.
FDA no longer requires positive COVID-19 test to prescribe Paxlovid, Lagevrio
By
Alicia Lasek
Feb 01, 2023
The FDA on Wednesday made it easier for clinicians to prescribe these antiviral drugs in cases where transmission is evident and the patient is at high risk of severe illness.
Volunteer staffing initiative supports COVID antibody infusions in long-term care
By
Alicia Lasek
Mar 04, 2021
A coalition representing LTC facilities has announced a new initiative to connect LTC operators to Medical Reserve Corps volunteers for help in administering monoclonal antibody infusions to residents...
Require COVID-19 vaccination of all healthcare workers, seven clinical groups say
By
Alicia Lasek
Jul 14, 2021
Their evidence-based verdict: healthcare institutions and facilities — including long-term care facilities — should require that their personnel be vaccinated as a condition of employment.
LTC vaccinators opt to briefly halt J&J shots while awaiting FDA guidance
By
Alicia Lasek
Apr 14, 2021
Long-term care pharmacies and clinicians have temporarily paused their use of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID vaccine following recommendations from health officials. Guidance is needed quickly in order to...
Flu shot and a COVID jab? New 2021-2022 flu vaccine guidance points to both
By
Alicia Lasek
Aug 27, 2021
Clinicians deciding whether to give flu and COVID-19 vaccine shots together can refer to the latest CDC guidance. It states that COVID-19 shots and other vaccinations may now be co-administered “without...
FDA OKs third antibody COVID therapy; variants spur new pause on another
By
Alicia Lasek
Jun 01, 2021
A new COVID-19 treatment made by GlaxoSmithKline now is the third monoclonal antibody therapy federally authorized to help prevent severe disease outcomes in high-risk patients. But gene variants are interfering...