CDC advisers: Long-term care workers, residents should receive first COVID-19 vaccinations
By
Alicia Lasek
Dec 02, 2020
An influential committee on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to recommend that healthcare personnel and residents in long-term care should be the very first recipients of COVID-19 vaccinations. The vote reflects...
Feds mull shortened COVID-19 quarantine period
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 30, 2020
There is “a preponderance of evidence” that a shorter quarantine period, complemented by a COVID-19 test, could effectively prevent transmission of the disease, according to Adm. Brett Giroir, assistant...
Thanksgiving comfort: Phone calls, emails work best to reduce residents’ loneliness, boost spirits
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 24, 2020
According to the Yale School of Public Health, regular phone calls or emails may provide the most solace for people living in long-term care facilities. This includes remote calls, and phone calls while...
Feds uncover coronavirus’s heavy toll on assisted living
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 20, 2020
As of Oct. 15, 22% of assisted living communities in 39 states reported cases of COVID-19 among residents and staff members. Rates ranged widely, from 1.3% of communities in Iowa to 93% of Connecticut...
AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine triggers immune response in older people
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 20, 2020
The experimental vaccine was safe and well-tolerated among all 560 trial participants, including adults aged 70 and older, the company said Thursday.
COVID vaccine protects elderly; delivery program has buy-in from nearly all U.S. nursing homes
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 19, 2020
Fully 99% of skilled nursing facilities nationwide have signed on with the federal Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program vaccine delivery initiative, HHS says. The news arrived just as Pfizer...
Omega-3s may not protect the heart, study of frail elderly finds
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 18, 2020
A daily dose of omega-3 fatty acids does not lower cardiac event risk in the frail elderly, and may be ineffective for cardiovascular prevention overall, investigators say.
‘Snap out of it’: American seniors shy away from depression care despite concerns
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 17, 2020
Many seniors who reported that they may be depressed during the coronavirus pandemic say they will not seek treatment for their symptoms, a new poll has found.
COVID test turnaround time tops 2 days for a third of nursing homes, data show
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 13, 2020
Among 13,000 facilities that provided their testing speed to the government, only 17% reported an average turnaround time of less than a day; and fully 29% waited three days or more on average for residents’...
Exercise may keep mild cognitive impairment from advancing to dementia
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 13, 2020
Study participants who began a weekly exercise routine after diagnosis with MCI had an 11% lower risk of progressing to Alzheimer’s when compared with people who did not exercise at all, a new study...