Not surprisingly, a recent study found that long-term care facility residents are among the populations at greatest risk of morbidity and mortality due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). In May 2020, the CDC developed interim infection prevention and control (IPC) recommendations for healthcare personnel to prevent COVID-19, which included specific guidelines for LTCFs and an Infection Prevention and Control Assessment …
Antibiotic stewardship, or improving how antibiotics are prescribed and used, is critical for optimizing the treatment of patients who have infections, protecting patients from harm, and combating antibiotic resistance. In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released “Antibiotic Use in the United States, 2018 Update: Progress and Opportunities”, which included information on how antibiotics were being used …
The states of Florida and Texas have started to distribute coronavirus vaccines to residents over age 65. These decisions go against guidelines set by an advisory group at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC recommended that healthcare workers and nursing home residents and staff members should be first in line, followed by other frontline workers and all …
The CDC has issued updated interim clinical considerations for use of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines currently authorized in the United States and interim considerations for preparing for the potential management of anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction that occurs rarely after vaccination. In addition to screening for contraindications and precautions before administering COVID-19 vaccines, vaccine locations should have the …
The CDC previously released guidelines for contraindications to vaccinations; however, it has now broadened these guidelines to include those with a history of an immediate allergic reaction to previous doses of or any component of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, including polyethylene glycol. According to the updated interim guidance, anyone with a history of immediate allergic reaction of any severity to any …
Per the CDC January 6, 2021 Inactive vaccines do not interfere with tuberculosis (TB) test results. There is no immunologic reason to believe either a Tuberculin Skin Test (TST) (administered by intradermal placement of 0.1 cc of purified protein derivative) or blood draw for interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) would affect the safety or effectiveness of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. We …
Local public health authorities determine and establish the quarantine options for their jurisdictions. CDC currently recommends a quarantine period of 14 days. However, based on local circumstances and resources, the following options to shorten quarantine are acceptable alternatives. Quarantine can end after Day 10 without testing and if no symptoms have been reported during daily monitoring. With this strategy, residual …
The Institute for the Advancement of Senior Care recently published a great article containing several strategies and resources your facility can use to prepare to administer COVID-19 vaccines. Among the resources is a website from the CDC detailing the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program for COVID-19 Vaccination, along with the #GetVaccinated Communications Toolkit from AHCA/NCAL that contains a vaccine …
On November 2, 2020, the CDC posted recent changes to the collection and submission of post-mortem specimens from deceased persons with known or suspected COVID-19. Medical examiners, coroners, and pathologists should immediately notify their local or state health department in the event of the identification of a deceased person with known or suspected COVID-19. Per the CDC, the following recommendations …
