In this Issue

Register for Upcoming Give the Boost a Shot Events *ANCC Contact Hours Awarded*

• Thursday, September 22, 2022 from 2:00-2:45pm ET/ 1:00-1:45pm CT: Flu, Pneumonia and COVID Vaccines – Oh My! - REGISTER
• Boost events are continuing this fall! We want to hear from you on topics!

Best Practice of the Week/ Center Highlight of the Week

• COVID Vaccinations & Approaching Holidays

• CDC Recommends the First Updated COVID-19 Booster
• FDA Authorizes Updated Bivalent COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters
• Changes in Health and Quality of Life in US Skilled Nursing Facilities by COVID-19 Exposure Status 2020
• Factors that Affect Your Risk of Getting Very Sick from COVID-19
• Omicron and BA.5: Questions patients may have and how to answer
• CDC: Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19–Associated Hospitalizations Among Adults During SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2 Variant Predominance — COVID-19–Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network, 14 States, June 20, 2021–May 31, 2022
• FDA authorizes Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents ages 12 to 17
• Know Your COVID-19 Community Level

• *New Videos* Take 5 to hear what Swati Gaur, MD, MBA, CMD, AGSF, Medical Director, Post Acute Care, Northeast Georgia Health System is doing right now to prepare for the holidays and how she is communicating about the new bivalent boosters!
• Your Safe Visitor Policy and Cohorting plans
• Understanding How COVID-19 Vaccines Work
• When to Get Tested for COVID-19
• COVID-19 Quarantine and Isolation Calculator
• The Adult Vaccine Assessment Tool
• Flyer: Visitor Talking Points
• Poster: Attention Vistors
• Poster: Why I Got Vaccinated
• Click HERE or visit https://bit.ly/GiveTheBoostAShot to download helpful resources and materials.

Check in: How are we doing? Are you finding the events and materials helpful?

• Please click here to share feedback with us

Best Practice/Center of the Week

1. Educate: We are recommending that organizations use the time over the next couple of weeks to provide education on the new bivalent booster to staff and residents. The bivalent booster is an updated version of the mRNA vaccines with Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 spike protein components. This helps to restore protection that has waned since previous vaccination by targeting variants that are more transmissible and immune-evading.
2. Plan: With the approaching holidays and desire to gather with family and friends, the timing of the vaccine will be very important. We suggest building a timeline for your facility in backwards planning fashion to ensure that all who desire this protection receive it no fewer than two (2) weeks prior to Thanksgiving – meaning all shots in arms by November 9, 2022.

• Eligibility Guidelines: Who is eligible to receive a single booster dose and when?
  • Individuals 18 years of age and older are eligible for a single booster dose of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent if it has been at least two months since they have completed primary vaccination or have received the most recent booster dose with any authorized or approved monovalent COVID-19 vaccine.
  • Individuals 12 years of age and older are eligible for a single booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent if it has been at least two months since they have completed primary vaccination or have received the most recent booster dose with any authorized or approved monovalent COVID-19 vaccine.
  • Read More
  • Of note: Getting staff and residents on a similar schedule for uptake can reduce administrative burden by reducing one off vaccinations that may present due to different eligibility dates. Vaccine
• Availability: Check with your pharmacy and/or suppliers to ensure you have adequate supply in time to launch your vaccination campaign. Ensure that you have staff available to administer the shot. Project
• Planning & Documentation: Create a timeline, schedule, cohorting guide/sign-up sheet, and vaccines administered roster for residents and staff to ensure that everyone who is eligible and desires protection is able to receive the shot by 11/9/22. Ensure that you timely updated your data in NHSN.
• Take 5 to hear what Swati Gaur, MD, MBA, CMD, AGSF, Medical Director, Post Acute Care, Northeast Georgia Health System is doing right now to prepare for the holidays and how she is communicating about the new bivalent boosters!

Latest Guidance/Updates

• CDC Recommends the First Updated COVID-19 Booster
  Today, CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, M.D., M.P.H., endorsed the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendations for use of updated COVID-19 boosters from Pfizer-BioNTech for people ages 12 years and older and from Moderna for people ages 18 years and older. Updated COVID-19 boosters add Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 spike protein components to the current vaccine composition, helping to restore protection that has waned since previous vaccination by targeting variants that are more transmissible and immune-evading. In the coming weeks, CDC also expects to recommend updated COVID-19 boosters for other pediatric groups, per the discussion and evaluation of the data by ACIP on Sept. 1, 2022. When data are available and FDA authorizes these other types of COVID-19 boosters, CDC will quickly move to help make them available in the United States. The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) authorization of updated COVID-19 boosters, and CDC’s recommendation for use, are critical next steps forward in our country’s vaccination program—a program that has helped provide increased protection against COVID-19 disease and death. Read More
• FDA authorizes updated bivalent COVID-19 vaccine boosters
  The Washington Post (8/31, McGinley) reports, “New Omicron-targeting coronavirus booster shots are poised for rollout after being authorized Wednesday by the Food and Drug Administration – a move designed to improve protection against severe illness and death during a potential rise in COVID-19 cases this fall and winter.” These bivalent “boosters, reformulated to take aim at the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants dominant in the United States, are scheduled to be reviewed by advisers to the” CDC and if approved, “some boosters may be available starting this weekend, with more showing up in pharmacies, [physicians’] offices and clinics after Labor Day.” Read More
• Changes in Health and Quality of Life in US Skilled Nursing Facilities by COVID-19 Exposure Status in 2020
  In this retrospective observational study that included data from 2 985 864 long-term care resident-years in 15 477 SNFs in 2018-2020, SNFs with active COVID-19 cases experienced significant increases in mortality and functional decline during the first year of the pandemic compared with the prepandemic period, while significant increases in weight loss and depressive symptoms occurred in SNFs with active COVID-19 and SNFs with no known COVID-19 cases. Among skilled nursing facilities in the US from January to November 2020, adverse changes occurred in some health and quality of life measures during the first year of the pandemic and prior to the availability of COVID-19 vaccination, compared with the prepandemic period of January to November 2018 and 2019, even among facilities that did not have known COVID-19 cases. Read More
• Factors That Affect Your Risk of Getting Very Sick from COVID-19
  Vaccination, past infection, or timely access to testing and treatment can help protect you from getting very sick if you get COVID-19. However, some people are more likely than others to get very sick if they get COVID-19. This includes:
  • Older adults People who are immunocompromised
  • People who have certain disabilities
  • People with certain underlying health conditions
  • Understanding your COVID-19 risk and the risks that might affect others can help you make decisions to protect yourself and others. Read More
• Omicron and BA.5: Questions patients may have and how to answer
  With the rise of the highly contagious BA.5 Omicron subvariant, more questions arise among patients navigating pandemic fatigue. Get the facts on patients’ FAQs.
• CDC: Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19–Associated Hospitalizations Among Adults During SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2 Variant Predominance — COVID-19–Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network, 14 States, June 20, 2021–May 31, 2022
  Increased hospitalization rates among adults aged ≥65 years compared with rates among younger adults were most pronounced during the Omicron BA.2–predominant period. Among hospitalized nonpregnant patients, 44.1% had received primary vaccination and ≥1 booster or additional dose. Hospitalization rates among unvaccinated adults were approximately triple those of vaccinated adults. Read More
• FDA authorizes Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents ages 12 to 17
  CNN (8/19, Howard) reported the FDA “authorized Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine on Friday for emergency use in adolescents.” Novavax’s protein-based “vaccine was authorized for adults in July,” and with this “latest emergency use authorization, it also will be available as a two-dose primary series for ages 12 to 17.” In the “age group, ‘overall, the clinical efficacy of the vaccine is around 80%,’ said” Novavax Global Corporate Affairs Senior Vice President Silvia Taylor. Read More
• Know Your COVID-19 Community Level 
• CDC's COVID-19 Community Levels are a tool to help communities decide what prevention steps to take based on the latest data. Levels can be low, medium, or high and are determined by looking at hospital beds being used, hospital admissions, and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in an area. COVID-19 County Check

Materials & Resources

​​​​​​ Video Playlist with Swati Gaur, MD, MBA, CMD, AGSF, Medical Director, Post Acute Care, Northeast Georgia Health System and Jeremy Bischoff, LHNA, BS, Quality Improvement Initiative Advisor at Alliant Health Solutions.

• These short videos cover some of the frequently asked questions and common concerns we've from nursing homes across the states we serve related COVID-19 and vaccination. These videos provide quick, to-the-point information and advice to tackle questions and concerns. We will update the list of modules each week! Watch them here.
  • Take 5: Welcome Message: The purpose of the modules (~5 minutes) - watch
  • Take 5: Vaccine Eligibility Part 1: CDC Recommendations as of 5/19/22. What does it mean to be up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccinations? - watch
  • Take 5: Vaccine Eligibility Part 2: Jeremy and Swati discuss some tough questions like "what if I got COVID between the primary and booster?" or "what if I'm recovering from cancer? or received monoclonal antibodies?" - watch
  • Take 5: Overcoming Concerns - watch
  • Take 5: Additional Precautions for the Unvaccinated HCP - watch
  • Take 5: Walkthrough Care Compare - Finding Public Data - watch
  • Take 5: How to stay UTD with Trusted Sources - watch
  • Take 5: How does it affect my operations? - watch
  • Take 5: Boosters and Variants - watch
  • Take 5: Vaccination for Short Stay Residents - watch
  • Take 5: Cohorting - watch
  • Take 5: Novovax - watch
  • Take 5: Therapeutics - watch
  • **NEW** Take 5: BA5 Variants - watch
  • **NEW** Take 5: Strategies Moving Forward - watch
  • **NEW** Take 5: Pivot not Pause (holidays are approaching) - watch
  • **NEW** Take 5: New Bivalent Boosters - Everything you need to know - watch
• Your Safe Visitor Policy and Cohorting plans
  CMS requested Alliant Health Solutions, your QIN-QIO, to work with nursing homes to understand emerging healthcare needs in the skilled nursing facility and ensure plans addressing safe visitors and cohorting are in place to achieve and maintain health quality and equity. Over the next several months, Alliant Health Solutions will be reaching out to your nursing homes via phone and email to answer two quick questions:
  • Does your facility have a formal Cohorting plan?
  • Does your facility have a formal Safe Visitor Policy?
• Theater for Vaccine Hesitancy—Setting the Stage for Difficult Conversations
  With almost one-quarter of Americans unwilling to get immunized with available COVID-19 vaccines, vaccine hesitancy remains a substantial obstacle to controlling the coronavirus pandemic. This essay describes our experience with a Theater for Vaccine Hesitancy training program that uses improvisational theater techniques to help health care workers have collaborative conversations with unvaccinated patients about the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination. Read More
• Understanding How COVID-19 Vaccines Work
  This website page provides resources and information about how vaccines work. Visit Website
• When to Get Tested for COVID-19: The Coronavirus Self-Checker is an interactive clinical assessment tool that can help you decide when to seek testing or medical care if you think you have COVID-19 or have come into close contact with someone who has COVID-19.
• COVID-19 Quarantine and Isolation Calculator: CDC’s COVID-19 Quarantine and Isolation calculator takes the stress out of deciding when, and for how long, people with COVID-19 and close contacts need to stay home, get tested, and wear a well-fitting mask.
• The Adult Vaccine Assessment Tool: CDC’s Adult Vaccine Quiz helps you create a list of vaccines you may need based on your age, health conditions, and more. Click here to take the quiz now!
• Flyer: Visitor Talking Points: This one-page flyer outlines how to talk to visitors about ensuring the safety of nursing home residents and staff while visiting. Download 
• Poster: Attention Visitors: This poster outlines practices to help visitors keep nursing homes residents and staff safe. Download 
• Poster: COVID-19 Vaccine Booster: Why Should I Get Boosted? Download | In Spanish
• Click HERE or visit https://bit.ly/GiveTheBoostAShot to download helpful resources and materials.

About the Give the Shot a Boost Program

Alliant Health Solutions received a direct change order from CMS to provide support to nursing homes to help accelerate resident vaccination rates. This intensive program includes the following services and activities:

• Second Tuesday: You will receive a weekly email bulletin dedicated to this program with the latest updates and tools you can use to help increase vaccination and booster rates.
• Twice monthly educational events and dedicated time to ask questions.
• A dedicated website page with resources and materials.
• Access to experts in epidemiology, quality improvement, and infection control. 
  • Assistance Hotline: 1-888-519-4128
  • Email: Booster@allianthealth.org 

For more information about Alliant Health Solutions, visit the website: quality.allianthealth.org.

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