Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare On October 21, 2021, “CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, M.D., M.P.H., endorsed the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendation for a booster shot of COVID-19 vaccines in certain populations. The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) authorization and CDC’s recommendation for use are important steps forward as…… Continue reading CDC Expands Eligibility for COVID-19 Booster Shots

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Treatment Guidelines is published in an electronic format that can be updated in step with the rapid pace and growing volume of information regarding the treatment of COVID-19. The COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel (the Panel) is committed to updating this document…… Continue reading Updated Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Treatment Guidelines

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The renewal of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency can be found here. The declaration will be “up” for renewal on January 13, 2022.

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP  Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS has posted nursing home COVID-19 data for week ending October 3, 2021. This latest data set shows these changes from the September 26th data set: Resident vaccination increased 0.7% from the previous weekStaff vaccination increased 2.1% from the previous weekResident confirmed cases increased 3,963 from the…… Continue reading Latest CMS, CDC and NHSN COVID-19 Data Posted

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare A new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shows that COVID-19 vaccinations may have helped prevent hundreds of thousands of new COVID-19 infections and tens of thousands of deaths among seniors. The study, which was conducted by researchers with HHS’s Office…… Continue reading Vaccination Linked to a Reduction of Over a Quarter Million COVID-19 Cases, 100,000 Hospitalizations and 39,000 Deaths Among Seniors

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare On October 7, 2021, the CDC updated the Who Is Eligible for a COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shot? Website. That same day, the CDC updated the What to Do if You Had an Allergic Reaction After Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine website.

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS updated the 44-page COVID-19 Emergency Declaration Blanket Waivers for Health Care Providers on Thursday, October 7, 2021. Skimming through the document, this waiver shows with a 10/7/2021 date: Hospitals Classified as Medicare-Dependent, Small Rural Hospitals (MDHs) Terminated waivers are included as well.  Here are a…… Continue reading COVID-19 Emergency Declaration Blanket Waivers for HC Providers Updated

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS has posted the nursing home COVID-19 data for the week ending September 26, 2021. This latest data set shows these changes from the September 19th data set: Resident vaccination increased 0.1% from the previous weekStaff vaccination increased 1.7% from the previous weekResident confirmed cases increased 5,265…… Continue reading Latest CMS, CDC and NHSN COVID-19 Data

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Version 24 of this toolkit was posted September 29, 2021. It includes recent information and guidance on vaccinations to prevent infection with influenza virus, pneumococcus, and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Here’s the Table of Contents:

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP  Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare On October 1, 2021, the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) published an analysis with the same title as this blog. “Staff and residents at long-term care facilities were particularly hard-hit by the first year of the pandemic, accounting for 31% of all COVID-19 deaths in the US as of…… Continue reading Nursing Homes Experienced Steeper Increase In COVID-19 Cases and Deaths in August 2021 Than the Rest of the Country