This message includes:

COVID-19 vaccine clinics are starting soon. Providers need to act now to get ready. AHCA/NCAL is hosting a webinar on Thursday, December 10 at 4:00 pm to walk you through how to get ready and promote high vaccination rates in your building. 

December 10, 2020 | 4:00 pm

 

The webinar is open to everyone. Registration is required, but lines are limited. This webinar will be recorded and made available if you are not able to join live. 

The best source of information about COVID-19 vaccine and the vaccination efforts in Virginia is the VDH website.

 

On-line training to learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine include:

 

VDH will host a general COVID-19 vaccine educational webinar for Virginia healthcare workers on December 9, 2020. Attendance is capped at 1,000 participants but the webinar will be recorded and published on the VDH COVID-19 Vaccine website.

 

December 8, 2020 | 11:00 – 12:15 pm

Meeting number (access code): 132 765 0131

Meeting password: nmXUCAuC277

 

COVID-19 vaccine-specific training will be available once vaccines receive Emergency Use Authorization.

VDH is hosting a series of community conversations webinars over the next two weeks. All sessions will be held at 6:00 pm. We would encourage you to share this information with your staff and larger communities to help everyone learn more about preparing for the COVID-19 vaccine.

 

The sessions are as follows:

 

Click here to register: https://redcap.link/qs2vye05

CMS has issued a set of frequently asked questions on nursing home COVID-19 testing. OLC shared the document with us.

This AHCA/NCAL resource, COVID-19 Testing Vendors for Long Term Care, which includes company contacts for numerous testing vendors. The list includes numerous PCR and antigen testing vendors.

On December 2, 2020, CDC released Options to Reduce Quarantine for Contacts of Persons with SARS-CoV-2 Infection Using Symptom Monitoring and Diagnostic Testing. CDC continues to recommend a 14-day quarantine period after the last close contact to a person with COVID-19 and all close contacts should monitor for symptoms, wear a mask, keep distance, avoid crowds, and wash hands often for 14 days after exposure. However, there are two alternatives if people are not able to quarantine for the recommended 14-day period and if ample testing is available:

 

 

These shorter duration quarantine alternatives aim to reduce the burden of quarantine and increase overall compliance. CDC based the guidance on information from household transmission studies and modeling the residual post-quarantine transmission risk. The estimated risk at day 10 with symptom monitoring without testing is 1 percent, with an upper limit of 10 percent. Estimated risk at day 7 with symptom monitoring with testing is 5 percent, with an upper limit of 12 percent. 

 

VDH adopted this revised quarantine guidance for everyone except healthcare workers or healthcare facilities. CDC’s healthcare-associated infection prevention and control experts are currently reviewing the revised guidance; in the meantime, VDH recommends that healthcare personnel and residents and staff in healthcare facilities continue to use a 14-day quarantine. VDH materials are being updated as quickly as possible to reflect these changes.

December 10, 2020

February 3, 4, 10, and 11, 2021 *Save the Dates*