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With the threat of increasing COVID-19 cases due to variants coming amid the backdrop of holiday gatherings, one long-term care medical expert is urging people to roll up their sleeves to protect older adults, if they haven’t already done so.
“We need members of the public to protect their elderly or immunocompromised parents, grandparents and friends this holiday season,” said David Gifford, M.D., MPH, chief medical officer for the American Health Care Association / National Center for Assisted Living. “If you haven’t gotten vaccinated or your booster shot yet, now is the time to roll up your sleeves.”
Assisted living communities and nursing homes initially used the Federal Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care program to offer on-site COVID-19 vaccination for residents and staff members, beginning approximately a year ago. Although that program no longer is operating, during a November LeadingAge membership call, CVS Health Associate Chief Medical Officer David Fairchild, M.D., said that long-term care providers can schedule staff members and residents for in-store appointments, coordinate on-site booster clinics, or host facility-led vaccination clinics.
AHCA / NCAL noted that, similar to the two-month timeline required to conduct on-site clinics last year when vaccines were first approved, it may take until the end of the year for most facilities to complete on-site booster clinics if they have chosen that route.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 202 million Americans — including 47.7 million adults aged 65 or more years (87.2%) — are now fully vaccinated, representing just more than 60% of the entire eligible population. Meanwhile, almost 54 million Americans, including 24.5 million older adults (51.4%), have received booster shots.
“The holiday season is about spending time with the ones you love. Let’s do it safely,” Gifford said.
Vaccination mandates for healthcare workers and large employers, announced in early November, remain on hold, but President Biden is asking businesses to voluntarily follow the deadlines they contained. Dec. 6 was the first shot deadline under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services emergency regulation, whereas the Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s emergency temporary standard required employees at companies with 100 workers or more to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4 or undergo weekly testing.
A Nov. 29 federal court ruling temporarily blocked 10 states from enforcing the CMS mandate, and a federal judge in Louisiana expanded that ruling to all states on Nov. 30. A stay to OSHA’s standard was issued by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals last month. Both CMS and OSHA announced they are suspending implementation of their COVID-19 vaccination mandates until further court order.
