FDA Says Seniors Can Get Additional Dose of COVID-19 Booster

Posted by Argentum on April 19, 2023

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has amended the emergency use authorizations of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 bivalent mRNA vaccines to simplify the vaccination schedule for most individuals. By doing so, the agency has authorized an additional booster shot for those 65 and older at least four months following their initial bivalent dose.

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Topics: Vaccine

FDA to Authorize Second Bivalent COVID-19 Shot

Posted by Argentum on April 6, 2023

The FDA will be allowing certain people to receive a second booster of an updated COVID-19 vaccine designed to tackle the omicron variant. 

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Topics: Vaccine

CDC Outlines Steps Being Taken to Get More Boosters to LTC Residents

Posted by Argentum on January 4, 2023

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted that with the rising number of respiratory diseases affecting the nation as winter progresses, it is important for long-term care operators to encourage more residents to receive the updated (bivalent) COVID-19 boosters.

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Topics: Vaccine

Updated Booster Shot Prevents a Majority of COVID Hospitalizations in Older Adults

Posted by Argentum on December 19, 2022

 

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Topics: Vaccine

Supreme Court Will Not Hear Challenge to CMS Vaccination Mandate for Healthcare Workers

Posted by Argentum on October 7, 2022

On Monday, October 3, 2022, the Supreme Court rejected a request brought by 10 states led by Missouri to hear a renewed challenge to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) COVID-19 vaccination mandate for healthcare workers. The mandate applies only to Medicare and Medicaid-certified facilities that are subject to CMS’s health and safety regulations – and thus does not apply to assisted living facilities.

It should be noted that the Court’s decision does not in any way impact the scope of CMS’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate. As such, assisted living facilities, including those providing Home and Community-based Services (HCBS), remain excluded from the scope of CMS’s mandate. As a reminder, CMS has clarified via guidance that its COVID-19 vaccination mandate does not apply to assisted living, noting that it “does not have regulatory authority over care settings such as assisted living….” CMS also clarified that the mandate would also not apply to assisted living facilities that provide HCBS under state Medicaid programs, because “CMS’s health and safety regulations do not cover” HCBS providers.

Many assisted living providers would have been covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) vaccination-and-testing rule for large businesses, originally issued in November 2021. However, in January of this year, the Supreme Court blocked OSHA from implementing the rule, and OSHA subsequently withdrew the rule as an enforceable standard.

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Topics: Vaccine

CDC signs off on new COVID-19 boosters ahead of fall booster campaign

Posted by Argentum on September 2, 2022

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky signed off on newly-updated COVID-19 booster shots Thursday night, giving the final clearance shots to be administered soon after.

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Topics: Vaccine, Guidance

COVID-19 Booster Shots Targeting Omicron Authorized, Likely to Be Offered Soon

Posted by Argentum on August 31, 2022

U.S. health regulators cleared use of retooled Covid-19 vaccines that target the latest versions of Omicron, in preparation for a fall booster campaign that could start within days.

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Topics: Vaccine

U.S. Reaches $1.74 Billion Deal With Moderna for Updated Covid-19 Shots

Posted by Argentum on July 29, 2022

The Biden administration said it would spend $1.74 billion to buy 66 million doses of Moderna Inc.’s updated Covid-19 vaccine, as well as the option to purchase up to 234 million additional doses, as part of a fall booster campaign.

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Topics: Vaccine, Biden Administration

CDC Approves New COVID-19 Vaccine Novavax

Posted by Argentum on July 20, 2022

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) approved the COVID-19 vaccine from Maryland-based vaccine maker Novavax, unlocking the 3.2 million doses that the U.S. government has purchased from Novavax for widespread distribution.

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Topics: Vaccine

COVID Vaccines Saved 20 Million Lives in 1st Year, Scientists Say

Posted by Argentum on July 1, 2022
Researchers estimate that COVID-19 vaccines saved almost 20 million lives in their first year, although even more fatalities could have been prevented if international targets for the shots had been met, reports the Associated Press.
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Topics: Vaccine

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