The Biden-Harris Administration will require COVID-19 vaccination of staff within all Medicare- and Medicaid-certified facilities, to protect both them and patients from COVID-19. On September 9, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that emergency regulations requiring vaccinations for nursing home workers will be expanded to include hospitals, dialysis facilities, ambulatory surgical settings, home health agencies and others, as a condition for participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Individuals age 12 and over with moderate to severe immunocompromised conditions can receive an additional dose of Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines. The additional dose is not the same as a “booster” shot. Individuals who are immunocompromised can schedule an appointment for their additional dose of Pfizer or Moderna by visiting Othena.com or calling the OC COVID-19 Hotline at 714-834-2000. They can self-attest that they are immunocompromised when scheduling, but will need to bring proof that they completed their second dose of Pfizer or Moderna at the time of their appointment. For more information about the additional COVID-19 dose for immunocompromised persons, click here.

On September 2, the CalOptima Board of Directors approved approximately $20 million in COVID-19 funding assistance for Medi-Cal health networks, fee-for-service providers, community health centers and hospitals.

CalOptima recognizes the demands the pandemic has placed on the agency’s provider partners and remains committed to supporting them. The additional funding assistance will help them address the challenges presented by COVID-19 and strengthen access to care for CalOptima members.

CalOptima partners with UCI for regular contributions to the Community Announcements. The contributions are from UCI infectious disease experts and are about COVID-19 hot topics. This week’s article addresses extra doses of vaccines that are available for immunocompromised. Click here to read the article.

Join the Partners for Child Fatality Prevention from the American Academy of Pediatrics and Child Death Review Team on September 30 from 6–7:30 p.m. for a webinar to discuss the data on youth suicide, prevention strategies and policy recommendations. Click here to register.

Join Be Well for a virtual 2-day conference taking place on October 14 and October 15 to raise awareness and share resources on suicide prevention. Click here for the conference flyer and click here to register.