CDC: COVID vaccines can be interchanged and doses delayed in supply crunch
By
Alicia Lasek
Jan 26, 2021
The agency has suggested exceptions to its official vaccine rules for cases when supply shortages interrupt second doses.
Post-acute provider launches comprehensive kidney disease program
By
Alicia Lasek
Aug 05, 2021
Services and therapies will include diabetes management, a full-time respiratory therapist and health coaching with the aim to preserve remaining kidney function. Dialysis will be added as well.
Repeat booster jabs for residents? COVID-19 immunity in nursing homes wanes quickly, large study shows
By
Alicia Lasek
Mar 21, 2022
Results from hundreds of facilities demonstrate not only the value of booster vaccinations, but that there may be an ongoing need for additional shots in the long-term care population.
It’s official: Omicron causes less severe COVID-19 illness than prior variants, CDC study finds
By
Alicia Lasek
Jan 26, 2022
The SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant is much less likely to cause severe illness and death than its predecessors, according to a new analysis of U.S. data from December 2020 through mid-January 2022.
Retail giants wrap up vaccine clinics, launch new LTC services for ongoing care
By
Alicia Lasek
Apr 23, 2021
CVS Health and Walgreens have completed their final LTC clinics, and are handing the reins to Omnicare and PharMerica to provide ongoing COVID-19 vaccination services in skilled nursing facilities and...
‘We want more tests, not less’: HHS doubles down on COVID antigen testing
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 27, 2020
Testing is critical to keeping the coronavirus in check in long-term care facilities as U.S. case counts trend back upward, said Adm. Brett Giroir, M.D. Federal agencies continue to deliver antigen tests...
‘Out in the cold’: LTC pharmacies ask to be matched with vaccination sites, relief funds
By
Alicia Lasek
Dec 22, 2020
As their businesses groan under the weight of COVID-19-related expenses, long-term care pharmacists are pressing federal officials for relief funds and asking for a bigger role in coronavirus vaccinations.
New ‘weapon in our arsenal’: Antibody drug cuts COVID risk by 80 percent in LTC residents
By
Alicia Lasek
Jan 22, 2021
Staff and residents who received Eli Lilly’s monoclonal antibody therapy were less likely to contract symptomatic COVID-19 than placebo groups in a late-stage trial. Industry advocates are hailing...
CMS update for long-term care: J&J vaccine interruption and signs of rare clotting
By
Alicia Lasek
Apr 20, 2021
Concerned LTCF staff members and residents should be aware that cases of blood clots after vaccination appear to be “extremely rare,” CMS says. Nevertheless, the agency is encouraging healthcare...
The coronavirus likely began to spread worldwide last year, say researchers
By
Alicia Lasek
May 06, 2020
The pandemic may have started as early as October 2019, quickly adapting to its human host, according to a new genetic analysis.