12/23/2020

Today's COVID-19 Report: Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Here are the latest need-to-know updates for Wednesday, December 23 regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Today's Report

• Residential care facility COVID-19 testing opt-in/opt-out (expansion): December 31 deadline
• Monoclonal antibodies: How and why to access
• All-member call at 11:00AM - Tuesday, December 29: Vaccine experiences
• LeadingAge webinar with experts from Walgreens scheduled for December 29
• CDC releases new vaccine information for general public
  
• Recording of LeadingAge call with CVS now available
• COVID courses for assisted living and senior housing offered by Johns Hopkins
  
• Save the Date - It's Accrual World: Strategic Thinking in a Post-COVID World
• LeadingAge Need to Know

A REMINDER TO ALL MEMBERS

Check LeadingAge's FAQs and Resources on COVID-29 Vaccines and Issues Surrounding Vaccinations frequently. The most recent update includes Q&A on implications of mandating the vaccine for staff

LeadingAge Ohio wishes all members a Happy Holiday Season

The holidays are upon us, but perhaps this holiday season has felt less joyful given the constant challenge and heartbreak you have faced this year during the pandemic. Certainly 2020 has been a year like no other.

We at LeadingAge Ohio truly hope you are able to take time to rest and celebrate, however you can. With the arrival of the vaccine and the start of its distribution within our sector, we hope for brighter days ahead. Our LeadingAge Ohio family remains strong and ready to support one another as we continue our unified mission of advancing solutions for exceptional care and successful living.

During this very unusual holiday season, and on behalf of the LeadingAge Ohio team, please know that we continue to be humbled to serve the heroes on the front lines of care, and remain steadfast in our commitment to stand alongside our membership as we see this through. May God bless you and the work you and your teams have done to protect others, and may He grant us all progress and better days in the weeks and months to come.

Residential care facility COVID-19 testing opt-in/opt-out (expansion): December 31 deadline

As reported in Monday’s Today’s COVID-19 Report the state-supported testing program has recently expanded to include: weekly testing support for staff and strategic testing of residents, alignment of shared campuses, and antigen supplies for facilities with a CLIA Certificate of Wavier. The updated Ohio Department of Health (ODH) guidelines effective December 21, 2020 offer much detail on the process and options. A residential care facility must complete this survey to renew or adjust the level of state-support based on their facility's needs and if on a shared campus, identify if alignment is desired regarding testing day. The survey closes on December 31.

Monoclonal antibodies: How and why to access

In November, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization for monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) therapy (specifically, bamlanivimab); it is approved for use in the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19. This treatment was shown in clinical trials to reduce COVID-19-related hospitalization or emergency room visits in high risk patients. The state of Ohio has received an allocation of mAbs, but there is also a federal initiative to distribute this infusion method directly through home infusion in nursing home and assisted living facilities and through participating pharmacies. This federal allocation program, called the Special Projects for Equitable and Efficient Distribution (SPEED), is working to distribute mAbs to priority populations, including nursing homes and federally qualified health centers.

Again, SPEED is separate and complementary to the state-based mAbs allocation system. If your facility is interested in learning more and potentially accessing mAbs, you should reach out to your medical director and/or pharmacy. This list represents those pharmacies currently signed up to receive mAbs.

Furthermore, yet another route is available to northeast Ohio providers who think their residents may benefit for monoclonal antibody treatment. CVS subsidiary Coram has received 1,000 doses of mAbs therapy for infusion across seven (7) metro areas. One of these is the Cleveland market. Nursing homes and assisted living within 75 miles of the Coram site in Solon may request this treatment, until all doses are expended. As of this Monday, over 50 doses remained for use in the Cleveland market, with the potential for more after the initial stock is expended. One challenge to the treatment is the short window in which it can be administered. It should be delivered within the first 10 days of detection, only to those who have a confirmatory PCR test. Because of lab delays for PCR turnaround time, once the positive test result is received there may only be a few days left to deliver the treatment.

If you are a northeast Ohio provider who would like to be linked to the Coram team to learn more about this treatment, email Susan Wallace at swallace@leadingageohio.org.

As the vaccine continues its roll-out – with a number of weeks before Ohioans in congregate settings are fully vaccinated -- mAbs offer potential life-saving mitigation of the COVID-19 virus. Watch for more information on this program on the Ohio Medical Directors Association website.

All-member call at 11:00AM - Tuesday, December 29: Vaccine experiences

On Tuesday, December 29 at 11:00AM, please join your fellow LeadingAge Ohio members to hear the experiences from two members who have just completed their first vaccine clinic. During the call, each member will share how their vaccine clinic unfolded, including how many staff they needed to dedicate to the clinic, how it was run, and what they wished they had done differently to help the process run more smoothly. The call will also include member education efforts, incentive considerations, and open Q&A. Please register in advance for this call here.

LeadingAge webinar with experts from Walgreens scheduled for December 29

Join LeadingAge and experts from Walgreens on Tuesday, December 29 at 3:30PM as they discuss the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program for COVID-19 Vaccinations. Walgreens officials will provide an overview of their distribution program and clinics for those providers who are paired with them and will answer questions from LeadingAge members. They will also provide resources for providers to help providers plan for the distribution of the COVID-19 Vaccine. Register for this webinar here.

CDC releases new vaccine information for general public

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has now posted a variety of materials for the general population on COVID-19 vaccines. The materials include “8 Things You Need to Know About the COVID-19 U.S. Vaccination Program,” “When Vaccine Supply is Limited, Who Gets Vaccinated First?,” “What to Expect at Your Appointment to Get Vaccinated for COVID-19,” “Benefits of Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine,” “Different COVID-19 Vaccines,” and “Ensuring the Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines in the United States.”

Recording of LeadingAge call with CVS now available

A team from CVS Omnicare joined LeadingAge and more than a thousand callers on Tuesday to explain the Pharmacy Partnership in greater detail. CVS reviewed the specifics of consent forms, clinic scheduling, responsibilities of CVS and providers and explanatory resources available on their webpage. The session was recorded and LeadingAge also posted a detailed article for members.

COVID courses for assisted living and senior housing offered by Johns Hopkins

The Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Training Initiative has released two free courses designed for assisted living and senior housing communities on COVID-19 response strategies. These courses provide a central platform for assisted living administrators and senior housing owners and managers to learn how to develop and implement a comprehensive health emergency response. The self-paced courses consist of lectures, guest interviews, reading resources, and assignments for learners to acquire immediate takeaways to actively change their community's policies and implement lessons from the assignments to keep residents and staff safe. Additional information on these courses is available here.

Courses are available on the Coursera website:

• Strategies for Assisted Living Communities during COVID-19
• Strategies for Senior Housing Communities during COVID-19

Save the Date - It's Accrual World: Strategic Thinking in a Post-COVID World

These four, one-hour finance webinars will be held every Wednesday during the month of February. Dates and time are listed below. Registration available soon!

LeadingAge Need to Know: COVID-19 – December 23, 2020

LeadingAge shares the latest coronavirus news and resources with members twice each weekday. This morning's update featured a message from LeadingAge president and CEO Katie Smith Sloan.

Check out the full report here.

Questions

Please send all questions to COVID19@leadingageohio.org. Additionally, members are encouraged to visit the LeadingAge Ohio COVID-19 Working Group facebook group to pose questions to peers and share best practices. LeadingAge is continuing its daily calls for all members.  To participate in these daily online updates, members should register here.  

LeadingAge Ohio is working to ensure that the information in our daily alerts, on our website, and all coronavirus-related communications is as accurate as possible. However, LeadingAge Ohio makes no guarantees about the accuracy of the information.