CDC: New SNF data show COVID-19 booster improves omicron protection
By
Alicia Lasek (f3)
May 06, 2022
Data from thousands of U.S. skilled nursing facilities show that a COVID-19 booster shot is more protective against omicron than an initial series alone, investigators say.
Stroke survivors have 54 percent lower mortality with a 30-minute daily walk
By
Alicia Lasek
Aug 13, 2021
Exercising the equivalent of three to four hours of walking each week halved the long-term mortality rate of older stroke survivors, investigators say.
Psychological resilience boosts walking abilities after hip fracture: study
By
Alicia Lasek (f3)
Jul 25, 2022
Higher levels of psychological resilience are linked to greater improvements in walking speed and distance 16 weeks after hip fracture, investigators say.
CMS pushes for mandatory flu vax monitoring among nursing home staff
By
Alicia Lasek
Apr 13, 2022
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services wants to adopt a new quality tracker to keep tabs on influenza vaccination among healthcare personnel in skilled nursing facilities.
COVID-19 connected to dementia-like disability, multiple studies find
By
Alicia Lasek
Jul 27, 2021
A bout with COVID-19 can cause dementia-like brain changes and related functional decline, especially for seniors and in people who lose their sense of smell, researchers are finding.
CDC: COVID vaccines safe during pregnancy, allaying a top concern of nursing home workers
By
Alicia Lasek
Apr 28, 2021
Pregnancy concerns are cited as one of the top reasons for vaccine hesitancy among long-term care workers, but there were no obvious signs of third trimester adverse events among pregnant women who received...
Coronavirus vaccines safeguard people with obesity, but less so in the underweight: study
By
Alicia Lasek (f3)
Jul 05, 2022
Underweight people may have less vaccine-derived immunity due to frailty or immunosuppression, investigators theorize.
Need for liver transplants soaring among older Americans
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 19, 2021
The number of older Americans needing liver transplants has skyrocketed, with some of the increase due to rising cases of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a fatty liver disease that can cause liver...
Functional impairment from COVID-19 may persist long after ICU discharge, studies suggest
By
Alicia Lasek
Jul 21, 2021
Certain physical and mental health problems persist for years in some hospitalized survivors of acute respiratory diseases, suggesting that disability may be permanent for some severely ill COVID-19 patients...
Show us the data: COVID vaccine boosters may get go-ahead, but LTC docs remain wary
By
Alicia Lasek
Danielle Brown
Aug 09, 2021
Booster shots for the most vulnerable appear to be on a fast track to federal authorization. But clinicians want information about necessity, safety, dosing and more to justify prescribing an extra dose...