Early vaccination sped up decline in COVID infections, study in Genesis facilities finds
By
Alicia Lasek
Apr 20, 2021
Nursing homes that administered shots early in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout experienced a lower rate of new infections compared to later-vaccinating sites. The results underscore the efficacy of the drugs...
Older adults who have received J&J need not be concerned: expert
By
Amy Novotney
Apr 20, 2021
Joshua Sharfstein, M.D., vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at Johns Hopkins University, has a message for older adults who have received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine:...
J&J vaccine pause may be short, but deep concerns about staff hesitancy mounting
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 16, 2021
Two days after federal officials pressed pause on Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, health and public policy leaders predicted it will return to use — but not without causing ongoing concern among...
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...
LTC pharmacies pivot after feds call for timeout on J&J COVID vaccine
By
Danielle Brown
Apr 14, 2021
Long-term care pharmacies have stopped using the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine and are awaiting further instruction from federal health officials, who recommended the halt while they investigate six...
LTC residents have detectable antibodies 6 months after COVID vaccination
By
Alicia Lasek
Apr 12, 2021
All residents tested in University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Senior Communities were found to have antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 after full vaccination. The findings are “cautious good news,”...
Tracing cases: How one bar gathering led to a nursing home resident’s COVID hospitalization
By
Alicia Lasek
Apr 07, 2021
A new report on contact tracing in rural Illinois illustrates how a single community gathering can lead directly to infections in a skilled nursing facility, and the challenges associated with reopening...
COVID-19 strategies: WWOT (What would Oprah think?)
By
James M. Berklan
Apr 02, 2021
I have a message for the Department of Health and Human Services: “Boy, do you have a problem.”
Feds’ grassroots vaccination campaign includes physicians as trusted voices
By
Alicia Lasek
Apr 02, 2021
Vice President Kamala Harris met Thursday with 275 founding members of the Biden administration’s Community Corps, a group charged with encouraging Americans to get vaccinated. The initiative is...
Governor’s team threatened nursing home licenses, fines in vaccine-ordering dust-up
By
Kimberly Marselas
Mar 31, 2021
Confusion over unclaimed COVID-19 vaccines led high-ranking New York officials to threaten penalties, license revocations and public shaming of nursing homes they may have wrongly considered at fault.