As the proportion of COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant rises in Massachusetts, the benefit of mAb other than Sotrovimab is declining rapidly. Sotrovimab is the preferred mAb product for treatment of COVID-19 when Omicron is likely to be present and should be the only product used for patients with a high likelihood of Omicron infection or at the highest risk of progression to severe disease, and yesterday EOEA released an Updated Resource Guide for ALRs for COVID Incident Reports.

On Tuesday, December 21 at 4:00 pm Eastern, AHCA/NCAL, LeadingAge and the AARP will co-host a town hall featuring Admiral Rachel L. Levine, Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the head of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps to answer questions about the Omicron variant, boosters, and why we need to step up the timeline to get the booster, and in recognition of upcoming holidays, CHIA has notified nursing facilities that the deadlines for submission of the COVID-19 surveillance testing report will be extended.

In light of the recent injunction of the CMS vaccine mandate and the subsequent lifting of this injunction in most states, Mass Senior Care is reminding nursing facilities that these actions have no bearing on the Commonwealth’s COVID-19 Personnel Vaccination Requirement for nursing homes, and DPH reiterated to all hospitals that to reduce any potential barriers to discharging patients, including those transferring to post-acute care settings, hospitals, including those that have an inpatient pharmacy but no outpatient pharmacy, may dispense medications to their patients.

Join the Massachusetts eHealth Institute (MeHI) and the MassCyberCenter on January 13 at 10:00 am for our monthly health care provider cybersecurity call. As always, we will be joined by Ron Ford – Cybersecurity Advisor for CISA New England and Sergeant Brian Gavioli of the Massachusetts State Police and Commonwealth Fusion Center, both of whom will provide updates on recent cyber threats and trends

With the emergence of the highly transmissible Omicron variant in Massachusetts, Mass Senior Care Association is strongly urging members to make COVID-19 vaccination boosters a priority for all eligible staff and residents and to take advantage of the resources available to help increase staff booster shot uptake rates. While we have achieved universal vaccination among residents and staff, it is critically important that we continue to encourage staff to receive the COVID-19 booster shot as it is our best protection against the virus.

DPH updates guidance for caring for the LTC resident during COVID-19, BinaxNOW test kit extension through 3/31/2022, assisted living residence skilled care DPH order and EOEA guidance; preliminary findings on Omicron and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, and recording available of CMS National Nursing Home Stakeholder Call

The emergence of COVID-19 variants has made booster shots even more important in protecting our residents and staff, the CDC Nursing Home COVID-19 Vaccination Data Dashboard now includes national and state level data on additional doses and booster shots among nursing home residents and staff, HHS announces release of Phase 4 Provider Relief Fund payments, and the Baker-Polito Administration announced additional efforts to provide hospitals with necessary flexibility to ensure sufficient acute care capacity, including updating and issuing several Massachusetts Department of Public Health guidance documents.

Reminder – follow-up Q&A session on ventilation strategies; MassHealth Transportation & Customer Web Portal (CWP) training on December 16, 2021; important HRSA updates; Baker-Polito administration announces 2.1 million at-home COVID tests for high-need communities.

Mass Senior Care is inviting members to a Zoom meeting on Monday, December 13, 2021, to discuss the critical need for long term care providers to increase boosters among staff now.