Booster Shots and the Omicron Variant
As we have been sharing, providers should have policies and procedures in place to ensure they are complying with all state and federal vaccine requirements. Please read below for recent news regarding the CMS vaccine mandate. We continue to advise Maryland skilled nursing and rehabilitation centers and assisted living campuses to continue with staff vaccination clinics as well as staff, resident, and patient booster clinics.
It is important to note, not all booster clinics in our sector are conducted by the state. For instance some of Maryland's skilled nursing and rehabilitation centers partner with pharmacies, and others perhaps with a local hospital partner. NOTE: Please reach out to HFAM if you are having difficulty arranging a booster clinic.
Today in Maryland and across the nation, COVID-19 vaccination and booster shots are more important as ever with the rise of the Omicron variant. Each day we continue to learn more about the rapidly spreading Omicron variant. Early reports suggest that Omicron is doubling every 2-3 days. Studies have indicated that 2 doses of the vaccine is about 34% effective against Omicron; effectiveness goes up to 74% for two doses plus the booster.
As is much of the nation, we are in a COVID-19 surge in the community at large, in hospitals, and in our sector. With both normal patient and COVID-19 volume up, Maryland hospitals are filling up. Our hospital partners, state and federal leaders, and leaders in our sector are all concerned with maintaining hospital and care capacity across all settings. The current increase in care volume makes capacity in all of our settings more challenging, and the current workforce shortage in all of our settings truly amplifies this challenge. All this said our SNFs must remain a resource to our hospital partners, especially during times of COVID-19 surge.
Injunction of CMS Vaccine Mandate Lifted for Most States
Today, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals took action which effectively narrows the scope of the District Court’s preliminary injunction order on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) vaccine mandate interim final rule (IFR) to the 14 plaintiff states.
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CMS is only lawfully precluded from enforcing the IFR in 24 States. Preliminary injunctions preclude the Secretary from enforcing the IFR in 24 States covered by either the Louisiana or Missouri preliminary injunctions: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
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Texas will likely soon be covered by a new preliminary injunction. Texas is no longer covered by the preliminary injunction entered in Louisiana. However, the district court handling Texas’s case will likely grant a preliminary injunction covering Texas later today or tomorrow. Later today there is an emergency hearing before the district court to consider Texas’s request for preliminary injunction.
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CMS’s position regarding enforcement of the IFR in the 26 non-preliminary-injunction states is not yet known. CMS has not yet updated its website explaining what enforcement position the agency is taking following today’s Fifth Circuit ruling. Even if CMS announces that it will enforce the IFR in non-preliminary-injunction States, we expect that CMS will set a new deadline for compliance rather than assert that providers in those states must comply immediately.