CMS Expanding Efforts to Grow COVID-19 Vaccine Amongst Nation’s Most Vulnerable

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a rule that will ensure long-term care facilities, and residential facilities serving clients with intellectual disabilities, educate and offer the COVID-19 vaccine to residents, clients, and staff.

The requirements apply to Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities and Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities, or ICFs-IID, and align with existing requirements for influenza and pneumococcal vaccines in LTC facilities.

The rule also requires LTC facilities to report weekly COVID-19 vaccination status data for both residents and staff. The new vaccination reporting requirement will not only assist in monitoring uptake amongst residents and staff, but will also aid in identifying facilities that may be in need of additional resources and/or assistance to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

To ensure LTC facilities receive support for COVID-19 vaccination efforts, they are now required to report weekly vaccination data of residents and staff to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), the nation’s most widely used healthcare-associated infection tracking system.

LTC facilities are already required to report COVID-19 testing, case, and mortality data to the NHSN for residents and staff, but have not been required to report vaccination data. As data becomes available, CMS will post facility-specific vaccination status information reported to the NHSN for viewing by facilities, stakeholders, and the public on CMS’ COVID-19 Nursing Home Data website.

For additional details visit : https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection/2021-10122/medicare-and-medicaid-programs-covid-19-vaccine-requirements-for-long-term-care-facilities-and.