It’s official: Community pharmacies partner with feds for COVID vaccine distribution
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 16, 2020
Future vaccines will be available to community pharmacies through partnerships with network
administrators, HHS has announced. The public-private collaboration will help cover expected distribution gaps,...
Expect false positives: FDA letter to providers explains COVID antigen test results
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 05, 2020
The agency clarifies that rapid antigen tests, “like all diagnostic tests,” are subject to false positive results, especially in low prevalence settings. It offers recommendations for administering...
Don’t shelve rapid tests as COVID cases climb, advocates implore nursing homes
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 03, 2020
Industry advocates say it’s time for facility operators who have not made full use of rapid antigen tests to start doing so — before nursing home deaths begin to spike again. CMS must “take to...
Act now to avert a holiday season fiasco
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Oct 20, 2020
The holidays are typically a busy time for long-term care centers, filled with special activities and extra visitors. Because of the pandemic, this year will be much different.
Emergency sick days may have helped flatten the U.S. COVID curve
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 19, 2020
States that gained access to emergency paid sick leave during the pandemic saw 400 fewer COVID-19 cases per day, a new study has found.
CDC: Prepare for COVID cases to rise in elders when young adult infections surge
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 14, 2020
In hotspot counties, surges in COVID infections begin in younger adults, followed by “several weeks” of increases in older age groups, agency investigators have found.
New visitation guidance targets social isolation
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 08, 2020
Nursing home and senior living advocates have released recommendations and a toolkit to support safe visitation and ease resident isolation during the pandemic.
Virtual music therapy program engages senior living residents cognitively, socially during pandemic
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 05, 2020
A collaborative music therapy program has safely engaged small groups of residents and hit its therapeutic marks during the pandemic, says a Cleveland senior living operator.
One person with COVID infects 4 to 5 others, double WHO estimates, study finds
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 01, 2020
Each person who contracted the coronavirus early in the pandemic likely transmitted it to four or five others, according to a new analysis.
Medical director shares wins, challenges of nursing home’s pandemic response
By
Alicia Lasek
Sep 23, 2020
Once described as the epicenter of West Virginia’s COVID-19 outbreak, a 100-bed facility gained control of its infection and mortality rate. A new study details its most helpful strategies — and biggest...