An influential committee on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to recommend that healthcare personnel and residents in long-term care should be the very first recipients of COVID-19 vaccinations. The vote reflects a desire for maximum benefit and minimum harm, committee members said.
A new webpage provides 10 “need to know” topics regarding vaccination against COVID-19 that clinicians can relay to patients in their care.
A federal advisory panel’s overwhelming vote to give long-term care residents and healthcare workers first access to COVID-19 vaccines is an “important step in the right direction,” industry stakeholders say.
The immunization advisory panel for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention overwhelmingly affirmed on Tuesday that long-term care residents and healthcare workers will be given first access to a COVID-19 vaccine once authorized by the federal government.
There is “a preponderance of evidence” that a shorter quarantine period, complemented by a COVID-19 test, could effectively prevent transmission of the disease, according to Adm. Brett Giroir, assistant secretary for HHS.
The federal government could move essential workers closer to the front of the line for receiving a potential coronavirus vaccine, pushing back seniors ages 65 or older and people with high-risk conditions.
As of Oct. 15, 22% of assisted living communities in 39 states reported cases of COVID-19 among residents and staff members. Rates ranged widely, from 1.3% of communities in Iowa to 93% of Connecticut facilities.
The toolkit offers strategies for reaching out to unvaccinated individuals, and for tracking and monitoring vaccinations as part of a quality improvement program.
Federal health officials touted transparency and nationwide distribution plans while keeping their eye on Phase 1 vaccine recipients, including LTC residents and workers.
Federal officials are confident that a COVID-19 vaccine will be ready to distribute by the end of this year just days after announcing a major program that would provide the medication for long-term care facilities at no cost.
