View as Webpage October 27, 2021 @ 4:30 p.m.

Weekly COVID-19 Briefing

Every Tuesday, Dr. Sherrill Brown, Medical Director, Infection Prevention; Olivia Lee, Manager, Legislative and Advocacy Affairs; and Diego Fuentes, Manager, Benefits and Leave of Absence, update our clinic and corporate line of business leaders. You can listen to the recording here.

Sherrill Brown, M.D.

Olivia Lee

Diego Fuentes

All Three COVID-19 Vaccines Approved for Boosters In the United States, the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccines have been approved for boosters. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have similar criteria for people to qualify for a booster, and the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine has different criteria.   At AltaMed, we want to provide the boosters in a quick, yet very safe manner. The primary precaution is that the Moderna vaccine booster is half the dose of the traditional dosage, so we must be prepared operationally to identify that dosage change as we begin to administer the boosters.   Pfizer and Moderna Booster Criteria For individuals who received a Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, the following groups are eligible, six (6) months or more after their initial series: Age 65 and older Age 18 and older who live in long-term care settings Age 18 and older who have underlying medical conditions Age 18 and older who work or live in high-risk settings, including first responders (health care workers, firefighters, police, congregate care staff)   Johnson & Johnson/Janssen Booster Criteria The following are eligible, two (2) months or more after their vaccine: Age 18 and older    Mix and Match The FDA and the CDC have given mixing and matching vaccine types the green light. Standing Orders We are in the process of getting our standing orders approved and signed so that nurses or back office staff will be able to administer the boosters without requiring the provider order. Once the standing orders are approved and signed and nursing is fully trained, we may be able to proceed with employee boosters at the clinics by Employee Health. Boosters Now for Employees If you do not want to wait for the AltaMed standing orders, you can sign up as an AltaMed patient, then schedule a visit with one of the AltaMed providers, and have them order the booster for you during your office visit. You can also get your booster at a location outside of AltaMed. If you do this, please send a copy of the booster record to Employee Health.

Grand Rounds Sherrill Brown, M.D., Medical Director of Infection Prevention, presented a COVID-19 Treatment, Vaccine Updates, and Q&A Forum during the Tuesday, October 26 Grand Rounds session.     Topics Discussed: Booster Approvals Updates for Clinics Special Considerations Data for Boosters Upcoming for Kids Questions   Resources: Presentation Slides WebEx Video Recording

Flu Raffle Ends This Week   Get your flu shot this week and be automatically entered into the raffle drawing (ends on October 31). Two, $100 gift cards will be raffled off along with many other prizes! Contact the Employee Health lead at your clinic to schedule your appointment. Contact Employee Health or call (323) 765-6153 to schedule your flu shot or to request a high-dose flu vaccine. Again, appointments are required. If you receive the flu vaccine outside of AltaMed, send proof of the vaccination to [email protected]. Click here for the flu declination form.   Click here to follow the CDC's weekly influenza map.

Stay Safe at Work Wear your masks—Face masks are to be worn at all times over your nose and mouth (except when drinking or eating), and should be stored properly or discarded. Patients need to wear masks at all times in examination rooms as well. Maintain hand hygiene—Staff should have easy access to hand sanitizer dispensers to clean hands frequently, and should wash their hands for 20 seconds at a time. Practice physical distancing—Stay six feet apart from other individuals whether inside or outside. Wipe down any work surfaces you touch. If employees need to be within six feet of someone for a prolonged period of time, wear a face shield and face mask in both administrative and clinical settings—avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. In addition, a face shield and face mask need to be worn at all times when interacting with patients. Employees must wear appropriate PPE when on site.

CalHOPE Support and Resources   In partnership with CalHOPE, Health Education and Wellness is offering free crisis counseling and other support services to patients, employees, and community members affected by COVID-19. Informational cards have been distributed to all clinics and PACE centers. For questions or to request more cards, contact Michelle Madrid, Manager, Health Education and Wellness.

Questions and Communications  We welcome your questions, suggestions, and input. We do review each question and respond appropriately, so please continue to email us—click here. Know that this is a safe space and most questions will be answered individually prior to being shared anonymously with staff. How to Stay Informed COVID-19 Alert emailed to employees every Wednesday altamed.org/vaccine Town Square home page FAQs Click here to read the most recent FAQs Refer to the weekly FAQs in earlier editions of the COVID-19 Alert to see if your questions have already been answered

Please Note: If you are contacted by the media with questions about the coronavirus outbreak or for any other reason, please email Veronica Orozco, Sr. Manager, Public Relations. The Public Relations team monitors all media coverage of AltaMed (social and traditional platforms) to uphold our reputation. If you have questions and concerns regarding media coverage, please call Veronica at (323) 482-3073. If you'd like to read news releases from AltaMed, visit our external website, AltaMed.org under Newsroom.