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02/09/2021

Today's COVID-19 Report: Tuesday, February 9, 2021

Tuesday, February 9, 2021

Here are the latest need-to-know updates for Tuesday, February 9 regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and other topics of importance.


A REMINDER TO ALL MEMBERS

Check LeadingAge's FAQs and Resources on COVID-19 Vaccines and Issues Surrounding Vaccinations frequently. The most recent update includes Q&A on implications of mandating the vaccine for staff.
The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) has released a preliminary toolkit that has been developed with talking points, language tips, social media language, and trusted resources to help providers better communicate information regarding the COVID-19 vaccines. 

In Today's Report

Next Phase of Vaccination: New residents and staff

Today LeadingAge Ohio met with Director McElroy on an anticipated plan for vaccinating new residents and staff of assisted living and nursing facilities. An announcement is anticipated shortly, with a webinar to be scheduled next week regarding the state’s plan. The state’s plan will be voluntary and is intended to provide flexibility both for facilities as well as pharmacies. Providers that have already identified partnerships with local hospitals, health departments, FQHCs or other partners to obtain vaccines for new residents and staff may still appreciate learning about the state’s possible solutions. LeadingAge Ohio will communicate the announcement and webinar once the details are available.

State supported testing schedule February 15 - March 12

The testing schedule from February 15 - March 12 is now available and can be viewed here. Included in this schedule are lab assignments, as they may have changed from previous schedules. Supplies will begin shipping the week of February 8.

Continue to visit the Ohio Department of Aging (ODA) website to obtain testing resources or feel free to reach out to COVIDTesting@age.ohio.gov with questions.

Nursing home visitation tool available

With growing impatience around visitation restrictions in nursing homes, there seems to be little attention to how nursing home visitation is impacted by ongoing outbreaks in the surrounding community. LeadingAge has created a tool that members can share with residents, families, and the greater community to clarify exactly why and when nursing home visitation is restricted and what each of us can do to make a difference.

This tool is available here.

Webinar regarding vaccinations in LeadingAge Ohio affordable senior housing properties – Friday, Feb 12 at 11:30AM

The state of Ohio is focused on expanding the availability of vaccinations for residents of affordable seniors housing properties across the state. On a call last Friday with a small group of LeadingAge Ohio members, Ohio Department of Aging Director McElroy stated that the state would like to partner with providers to ensure there is equity, efficiency, and an execution of the process that encourages as many residents as possible receive the vaccine. 

Please plan to participate in the call on Friday, February 12, at 11:30AM to learn how to schedule a vaccine clinic for your property’s residents. If you have questions in the meantime, please contact Kathryn Brod at kbrod@leadingageohio.org.

Registration is required in advance for this webinar, but there is no fee to participate.

Reports of suspicious phone calls to COVID-19 vaccination providers

The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) has received reports that some providers are receiving suspicious calls from people posing as local health commissioners or ODH personnel and asking prying questions about vaccine allocation and shipment details.

ODH wants LeadingAge Ohio members to be aware that this is still occurring and asks that members exercise extreme caution with these contacts and the information shared about vaccine allocations. If unsure about a contact, please take extra time to verify who the person is before providing them with information. If still uncertain, please call the ODH Provider Call Center to confirm the identity of the person who has made the inquiry.

The ODH Provider Call Center is open 8:00AM to 7:00PM, Monday through Friday and 8:00AM to 5:00PM on Saturdays and Sundays, at 1-844-9ODHVAX (1-844-963-4829) or COVIDVACCINE@odh.ohio.gov. Providers also may visit the ODH COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Information Training page for additional information and resources.

Summary and analysis of Biden relief plan 

LeadingAge has released an article about the Biden Administration $1.9 billion relief plan, the National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness, with a link to a nine-page summary and analysis of the seven goals within the plan, highlighting elements that particularly affect LeadingAge members. The Administration put together an outline of a legislative proposal, the American Rescue Plan, that contains some of the elements of the National Strategy. The House approved the Senate amended budget resolution, so the process is in place now to pass relief legislation using the budget reconciliation process. The content of the final bill that will move through Congress is yet to be finalized.

The budget resolution gives committees budget figures to work with, but not instructions on specific policies. Those will be determined by the House and Senate committees. It is likely that a majority of the bill will follow the Biden proposals, but Congress will be shaping the details and adding some pieces of its own over the next couple weeks. Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, optimistically said she hopes the House can pass something within two weeks.

PACE organization update

LeadingAge has provided the following update for PACE organization members. Included in this update is information on:

Please contact Brendan Flinn at bflinn@leadingage.org with any questions or concerns.

LeadingAge Need to Know: COVID-19 – February 9, 2021

LeadingAge shares the latest coronavirus news and resources with members twice each weekday. This morning's update featured information on Celebrating Love in Aging Service: #CareIsLove and Leadership Lessons from the Pandemic.

Check out the full report here.


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Questions

Please send all questions to COVID19@leadingageohio.org. Additionally, members are encouraged to visit the LeadingAge Ohio COVID-19 Working Group facebook group to pose questions to peers and share best practices. LeadingAge is continuing its daily calls for all members.  To participate in these daily online updates, members should register here.  

LeadingAge Ohio is working to ensure that the information in our daily alerts, on our website, and all coronavirus-related communications is as accurate as possible. However, LeadingAge Ohio makes no guarantees about the accuracy of the information. 

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