COVID ‘breakthrough’ outbreak affects one quarter of residents at French nursing home
By
Alicia Lasek
Sep 15, 2021
In a facility with a 97% resident vaccination rate, the large number of infections shows that a shot alone is not enough to protect the frail elderly from SARS-CoV-2, researchers contend.
Severe breakthrough cases spiked among seniors after delta appeared: study
By
Alicia Lasek
Dec 07, 2021
The more time that had elapsed since vaccination, the greater the odds of severe reinfection illness for older patients, physicians from Yale University found. The results highlight the need for timely...
FDA expands COVID booster shot access; says vaccines can be mixed or matched
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 21, 2021
The agency has amended the emergency use authorizations for Moderna’s and Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccines to allow for the use of a single booster dose in certain eligible groups.
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.
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...
Feds mull swift sanction of 2nd coronavirus booster
By
Alicia Lasek
Mar 25, 2022
The Biden administration may authorize a second booster shot within weeks, a new report finds. Officials want to get ahead of an expected uptick in SARS-CoV-2 infections, sources say.
Staff vaccination rate tied to resident deaths in COVID-19 hot spots, national data show
By
Alicia Lasek
Dec 10, 2021
Estimates reveal that if a large sample of U.S. nursing homes had averaged 83% staff vaccination coverage this summer, at least 700 fewer residents would have died from COVID-19 over a two-month period.
COVID-19 vaccine more effective in nursing home residents with past virus exposure: study
By
Alicia Lasek
Jul 16, 2021
Nursing home residents who have had a prior SARS-CoV-2 infection have stronger responses to vaccination than those who have not been exposed to the virus, a real-life investigation finds.
Fed’s booster OK too late? Nursing home loses 8 to coronavirus outbreak this fall
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 17, 2021
A Connecticut nursing home has weathered a facility-wide COVID-19 outbreak that has sickened 89 residents and staff. Booster shots were not yet authorized when the first cases appeared, the operator reports.
‘Another layer of protection’: Senior care industry commends feds’ booster vaccine decision
By
Alicia Lasek
Sep 27, 2021
Industry advocates are welcoming the decision to include residents of long-term care settings and healthcare workers in a new federal recommendation to offer COVID-19 booster shots to at-risk adults.