Government Leaders Update
from the Health Facilities Association of Maryland
See Charts and Data Below
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Friends,
Thank you for your continued leadership and partnership as we navigate the evolving COVID-19 pandemic. We appreciate all that you do and we look forward to our continued work together to protect quality care for Marylanders in skilled nursing and rehabilitation centers and assisted living communities.
COVID-19 cases in all healthcare settings and some communities are increasing due to the Delta Variant and some breakthrough cases. This is not the time to let our guard down on infectious disease protocols or in peer-to-peer outreach on vaccination. We are entering a troubling and challenging time in the current surge that will likely last several weeks.
The charts you'll see below in this email are sourced with data from the US Federal Government and presented by the research teams of the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL). The data and messages here can be helpful to you, your teams, and constituents.
If the data trends of the Delta variant surge in India and the United Kingdom hold, and there is no specific reason that they should not, we will see substantial increases in cases of the virus in the community and across all healthcare settings. Based on the data of India and the United Kingdom, we should fortunately see much fewer deaths than in previous surges.
It is important to note:
- United Kingdom has a higher national vaccination average than the US.
- The vaccination of people in general and older people in Maryland is among the best in the US and is pretty close to that of the United Kingdom.
- Healthcare staffing in the United Kingdom is very different from that of the US. Here we have a workforce shortage generally in healthcare and specifically in our sector; this workforce shortage has gotten more challenging.
The road for the next several weeks, perhaps until early October, will be rough. Every life lost is to be mourned and there will be many more lives saved than lost. This current surge will end and in the coming months and years, we will figure out how to live with COVID as it will not just disappear.
As our country is once again experiencing an increase in coronavirus cases, it is imperative that we rally together to continue to provide quality care to Marylanders in need in our sector.
Be well,
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Joe DeMattos
President & CEO
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CDC and FDA Authorize Additional Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine for Immunocompromised Individuals
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has amended the emergency use authorizations for both the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine and the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine to allow for the use of an additional dose in certain immunocompromised individuals. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices followed the authorization with a recommendation that an additional dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (i.e., Pfizer or Moderna), after an initial two-dose primary mRNA COVID-19 vaccine series, be considered for people with moderate to severe immune compromise due to a medical condition or receipt of immunosuppressive medications or treatments.
The CDC recommends that a patient’s clinical team is best positioned to determine the degree of immune compromise and appropriate timing of vaccination.
- Immunocompromised is a very specific medical term based on factors such as disease severity, duration, clinical stability, complications, comorbidities, and any potentially immune-suppressing treatment.
- Immunocompromised does not mean older people in any setting, whether it is the community, a hospital, or a skilled nursing and rehabilitation center.
- Immunocompromised does not mean a person with a single specific chronic condition.
- An initial quick review of MDS data done by clinical and non-clinical leaders at the American Health Care Association (AHCA) seems to indicate that 20 -25 percent of residents/patients in our setting may meet the clinical definition of immunocompromised.
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Antibody Testing
- In the coming days and weeks, the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) is looking into sampling about 500 individual patients/residents in our settings for COVID-19 antibodies.
- These samples could be new draws with MDH staff or taken from remnant samples.
- The goal will be to determine the effectiveness of initial vaccination after all these months.
- This is fast developing and we are working to identify skilled nursing and rehab centers or assisted living communities who are interested in participating in this initiative.
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Vaccinations in Maryland
- Vaccination Phase: 3
- Total Number of Doses Distributed: 9,030,850
- Total Number of Doses Administered: 7,357,191
- CDC 18+ Population with at Least One Dose: 79.3%
- Number 1st Dose Administered: 3,722,670 (+3,664)
- Percent of Population 1st Dose Administered: 61.576%
- Number 2nd Dose Administered: 3,355,758 (+3,336)
- Percent of Population 2nd Dose Administered: 55.507%
- Number Single Dose Administered: 278,763 (+138)
- Percent of Population Single Dose Administered: 4.611%
Vaccinations in Maryland Skilled Nursing Facilities
SNF Facility Population:
- Total Population: 49,731
- Residents: 19,151
- Staff: 30,580
1st Dose Administrations and Percentage:
- Total: 41,131 (82.7%)
- Residents: 16,868 (88.1%)
- Staff: 24,263 (79.3%)
Fully Vaccinated (2nd and Single Dose) Administrations and Percentage:
- Total: 39,727 (79.9%)
- Residents: 16,114 (84.1%)
- Staff: 23,613 (72.2%)
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COVID-19 Among Nursing Home Residents
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Occupancy in Nursing Homes
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Want to see previous HFAM updates?
Visit our website to view all previous HFAM alerts, as well as guidance
from our federal and state partners.
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