RSV shot prevents pneumonia with 80 percent efficacy in older adults, J&J says
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 05, 2021
A vaccine candidate developed to protect vulnerable adults against the common respiratory syncytial virus has shown 80% efficacy in reducing the risk of dangerous lower respiratory tract diseases such...
States’ vaccination rate gaps suggest thousands of unnecessary deaths among seniors, analysts find
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 05, 2021
There would have been 62% fewer COVID-19 deaths than actually occurred in the past 3 months if states with the lowest vaccination rates had matched those with the highest rates, the Kaiser Family Foundation...
LTC residents on ventilators do not contract COVID-19, pre-vaccine study finds
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 05, 2021
In an unusual study across three nursing homes early in the pandemic, no COVID-19-related case clusters or deaths could be found among residents who were chronically on ventilators.
Instead of mandate exodus, NY operators get major surge in employee vaccinations
By
Danielle Brown
Oct 05, 2021
If New York is any indicator of how vaccine mandates work in long-term care facilities, the industry could soon be in good shape. Several Empire State providers struggling to get staff vaccinated saw their...
Clinical briefs for Tuesday, Oct. 5
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 05, 2021
J&J plans to ask feds to authorize its coronavirus booster shot … FDA chief discusses Pfizer vaccine booster doses in YouTube video … Very low amounts of airborne COVID-19 viral RNA found in long-term...
Vaccinated seniors report more pandemic fears, isolation than unvaccinated peers, poll finds
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 04, 2021
Vaccinated Americans aged 50 years and older are more worried about infection, more likely to practice social distancing, and more likely to describe their mental health as worse, say researchers at the...
Merck to seek emergency use for COVID-19 antiviral pill that cuts severe outcomes by 50 percent
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 04, 2021
Molnupiravir has reduced COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations by half in a new clinical trial. An orally delivered drug could offer unprecedented treatment convenience, the drug’s developers say.
Common bone-loss drug Fosamax may guard against new-onset diabetes, national study finds
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 04, 2021
Participants taking alendronate were 36% less likely to have new-onset type 2 diabetes than their peers who did not take the drug, according to a large, 10-year study in Denmark.
Clinical briefs for Monday, Oct. 4
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 04, 2021
Patients on chemotherapy likely not fully protected by COVID vaccine … Unauthorized nursing home COVID tests lead to audit demands … ‘Game-changing’ wellness model takes person-centric approach...
Long-term care’s problems are bad and getting worse — but fixable
By
Stephen A. Moses
Oct 01, 2021
The long-term care business is hurting: labor shortages, wage pressures, vax mandates, too much Medicaid, too little private pay, value-based reimbursement, MedPAC vs. Medicare and so on and on. What should...