VHCA-VCAL | August 19 Lunch & Learn on Staff Vaccine Requirements & Addition Vax Dose Info

Greetings!

This message includes:

a link to join our Lunch & Learn: Roundtable on Staff Vaccine Requirements on August 19;
the latest information on the authorization of an additional dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for immunocompromised individuals;
information from CMS on codes and payments for the additional vaccine doses; and
links to the two most recent updates from the state health commissioner on COVID-19.

Sincerely,

April Payne, MBA, LNHA

Chief Quality & Regulatory Affairs Officer

Executive Director of VCAL

Virginia Health Care Association | Virginia Center for Assisted Living

VHCA-VCAL Lunch & Learn:

Roundtable on Staff Vaccine Requirements

August 19, 2021 | 12:00 pm

Health care providers, private businesses, and government agencies are increasingly implementing COVID-19 vaccine requirements for their employees. Some VHCA-VCAL members have put requirements in place and others are thinking about how that would work in their facilities.

Join us August 19 at 12:00 pm for a lunch and learn roundtable featuring the experiences of VHCA-VCAL members who have put in place COVID-19 vaccine requirements for their staff. Panelists will share what worked and what they would do differently.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Panelists

Rebecca Moralez - Fairbanks, RN, LNHA | Administrator | Beth Sholom Village
David Abraham | President and Chief Executive Officer | Beth Sholom Village
Jeannie Adams, Esq. | Director of Legal Services | CCR
Ramsay C. McCullough, Esq. | Associate General Counsel | Medical Facilities of America

In addition to our webinar, AHCA/NCAL has a new handout on employer mandate best practices for providers who are considering implementing such a policy. It covers how to roll out the policy to staff, encourages ongoing educational efforts, and offers communication strategies. AHCA/NCAL also advises providers to break down possible barriers for staff in accessing the vaccine, know the legal parameters of mandates, and manage personnel records appropriately. You can also check out the new materials AHCA/NCAL has created that cover common questions raised by staff members when considering whether to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

CDC and FDA Authorize Additional Dose

of COVID-19 Vaccine for

Immunocompromised Individuals

The US 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. CDC’s 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.

These conditions and treatments include but are not limited to:

active treatment for solid tumor and hematologic malignancies
receipt of solid-organ transplant and taking immunosuppressive therapy
receipt of CAR-T-cell or hematopoietic stem cell transplant (within two years of transplantation or taking immunosuppression therapy)
moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (e.g., DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome)
advanced or untreated HIV infection
active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids (i.e., ≥20mg prednisone or equivalent per day), alkylating agents, antimetabolites, transplant-related immunosuppressive drugs, cancer chemotherapeutic agents classified as severely immunosuppressive, tumor-necrosis (TNF) blockers, and other biologic agents that are immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory.

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 individuals who have questions about this recommendation should talk to their physician. AHCA/NCAL recommends that providers identify residents (and/or their representatives) who meet the eligibility criteria for being immunocompromised and offer them the third dose or to talk to their physician about receiving a third dose of an mRNA vaccine. Individuals can self-attest and receive the additional dose wherever vaccines are offered.

While the CDC has authorized a third dose for this specific population, individuals only need two doses of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine to be considered fully vaccinated. Additional doses for people who have received the Janssen (J&J) vaccine are not recommended at this time. Elderly nursing home residents that don’t meet the immunocompromised eligibility criteria, do NOT need a third dose at this time.

In light of this authorization, the CDC is working to add new questions on vaccine doses to the NHSN data collection forms. For technical support, email [email protected] with “COVID-19 Vaccination Data Reporting” in the subject line.

COVID-19 Vaccines Additional Doses:

Codes & Payment

The FDA amended the emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for both the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to allow for an additional dose in certain immunocompromised people.

Effective August 12, 2021, CMS will pay to administer additional doses of COVID-19 vaccines consistent with the FDA EUAs, using CPT code 0003A for the Pfizer vaccine and CPT code 0013A for the Moderna vaccine. CMS will pay the same amount to administer this additional dose as it did for other doses of the COVID-19 vaccine (approximately $40 each).

CMS will hold and then process all claims with these codes after it completes claims system updates (no later than August 27).

Learn more about Medicare COVID-19 vaccine:

August 6 and August 16 Health Commissioner Updates

Virginia State Health Commissioner Dr. M. Norman Oliver has issued two recent updates for practitioners across the Commonwealth.

The August 6 update covers the following topics:

updates on the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant and guidance;
monoclonal antibody therapy and postexposure prophylaxis;
Guillain-Barré syndrome after receiving Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine;
Updates about non-COVID-19 respiratory viruses;
Burkholderia cepacia complex Infections associated with contaminated ultrasound gel; and
back-to-school vaccinations and updated resources.

The August 16 update covers the following topics:

CDC recommends an additional dose of mRNA vaccine following a primary series in certain immunocompromised people;
CDC strengthens vaccine recommendation for people who are pregnant, breastfeeding or thinking of becoming pregnant; and
VDH reminds clinicians of testing and masking recommendations.

As a reminder, you can visit the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) website for current clinical and public health guidance, epidemiologic data, and other information.