STATE NEWS
Kansas COVID-19 Cluster Summary
As of December 22nd, there are 10 long-term care facilites with clusters and three are LeadingAge Kansas Members.
Statewide Active COVID-19 Clusters
- Clusters: 160
- Cases: 1,592
- Hospitalizations: 47
Kansas COVID-19: Case Rates
- Cases: 505,522
- Total Case Rate Per 1,000: 173.52
- Daily Cases Diagnosed: 759
Long-Term Care Facilities with Active Cluster Case Information
- Clusters: 60
- Cases: 495
- Hospitalizations: 35
Source: https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas
VACCINE NEWS
FEMA Mobile Vaccination Units
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) can provide 100% federal funding to support launching and operating family vaccination sites nationwide. Funding for the administration of the COVID-19 vaccination is available to state, tribal, local and territorial governments as well as medical providers and other non-profit partners. FEMA also has available mobile vaccination units, fully funded by FEMA, that states can deploy to communities to support vaccination operations. For details on all vaccination costs eligible for full reimbursement, please see FEMA’s Public Assistance Medical Care Policy and FEMA’s advisory titled FEMA Funds Community Engagement for COVID-19 Vaccinations. To request support, reach out to your state’s Director of Emergency Management.
Kansas COVID-19 Vaccination Overview
- 3,788,875 Total Doses Reported as Administered
– First Dose: 1,826,929
– Second Dose: 1,462,521
– Third Dose: 498,426 - 4,779,830 Total Doses Distributed
– State Distributed: 2,772,040 - 58.6% of Kansans Vaccinated with One Dose
- 50.8% of Kansas Completed COVID-19 Vaccine Series
Source: https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/158/Data
FEDERAL NEWS
CMS Vaccine Mandate Rule
Though the legal battle seems to be changing on a daily basis, the December 2nd CMS memo QSO-22-04-ALL remains in effect. CMS will not implement or enforce the vaccine mandate rule at this time for any state or territory, including those who are covered by the court injunctions and those who are not covered by the injunctions.
Nursing Home Visitation
CMS is working with CDC to evaluate the need for further clarification on visitation recommendations and guidance. For example, CMS states that there may be times when state/local public health determines it might be appropriate to place limits on visitation for safety, such as serious outbreaks. However, CMS emphasized the importance of maintaining the resident’s right to visitation while adhering to core principles of infection prevention. CMS acknowledged our advocacy to allow providers greater flexibility in managing the risks of visitation, including allowing providers to require testing or proof of vaccination for visitors.
LEADINGAGE KANSAS NEWS
No Weekly Webinar this Friday, December 31st
Weekly Webinars will resume on January 7, 2022.
LEADINGAGE NATIONAL NEWS
No Update Calls Next Week
LeadingAge Coronavirus Update Call on Wednesday, December 22nd at 2:30 PM CT. In addition to policy updates, Dr. Ronald Nahass from Rutgers University will talk about the latest trends with COVID-19 – Omicron, boosters, demands on the health care system, etc. – and provide ideas and strategies for our members to control transmission, and protect staff and residents. If you haven’t registered for LeadingAge Update Calls, you can do so here.
Nursing Home Advisory Group
Join us next Tuesday, December 28th at 1 PM CT for the Nursing Home Advisory Group call. We will be joined by AMDA’s Chris Laxton to discuss nursing home visitation. Link to Join the December call | Meeting ID: 835 3396 2904 | Passcode: 916668. Please feel free to share this link. The Nursing Home Advisory Group meets the last Tuesday of every month. If you would like to be added to the mailing list for future notifications, please email Jodi (jeyigor@leadingage.org).
Meeting with White House Staff on Testing and “Expired” Binax Card Reminder
LeadingAge National met with the White House Testing Director and her staff yesterday about issues related to rapid testing supply and distribution across the continuum. They said they are actively looking at testing issues in long-term care. (We reminded them that “long term care” includes nursing homes as well as other providers such as assisted living, home health and home care, hospice, affordable housing, etc.). Thank you to those of you who sent feedback we could share with them. We specifically suggested it’s time to think about revising the federal allocation and distribution process and they seemed to be interested in the idea. Note: FDA granted an amendment to the EUA for BinaxNOW cards, resulting in an extension of the shelf life to 12 months, from 9 months. Abbott subsequently sent a letter to its customers with the production lots and revised expiration dates.
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