The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing titled “COVID-19 Health Care Flexibilities: Perspectives, Experiences, and Lessons Learned,” in which some senators, including Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, signaled their support for permanently lifting a number of telehealth restrictions under Medicare. NRHA supports maintaining the telehealth flexibilities that were created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and expanding the authority of the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth within HHS to include the ability to advise the Secretary on telehealth issues, create and staff an HHS Telehealth Advisory Committee, and administer grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts. The support for making permanent Medicare telehealth flexibilities echoed in the hearing suggests this is a priority the Senate is interested in advancing.

In the latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collected data on vaccine doses administered across the rural-urban continuum and found that coverage was lower overall, among all age groups, and among men and women in rural compared with urban counties. To address lagging rural vaccination rates, NRHA is communicating to the administration and external partners the need for rural-appropriate messaging and stakeholder engagement. The factors that motivate rural Americans to get vaccinated are often different than those of their urban counterparts, and thus, the messages rural community leaders share should be different. NRHA believes that to increase rural COVID-19 vaccine confidence and uptake, it is important we develop a local approach that empowers and encourages trusted community leaders to share clear, concise, and often personal messages about vaccine safety, efficacy, and social impact.

As COVID-19 vaccines continue rolling out across the country, CMS is taking action to protect the health and safety of our nation’s patients and providers and keeping you updated on the latest COVID-19 resources from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

With information coming from many different sources, CMS has summarized resources and materials to help you communicate with the people that you serve. You can find these and more resources on the COVID-19 Partner Resources Page and the HHS COVID Education Campaign page. We look forward to working with you to encourage our beneficiaries and consumers to get vaccinated. For more information, visit the CMS COVID-19 Policies and Guidance page.

Long-Term Care Community Champions – Voices from the Front Lines

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, staff in nursing homes have been providing ongoing care to our nation’s most vulnerable. CMS has released videos with long-term care staff who moved from being initially uncertain about receiving the COVID-19 vaccine to accepting it, and encouraging their peers to do the same. The videos are available here:

• Long-Term Care Community Champions – Video #1
• Long-Term Care Community Champions – Video #2
• Long-Term Care Community Champions – Video #3

New Medicare COVID-19 Vaccine Campaign

CMS recently launched the Be Next Campaign to encourage Medicare beneficiaries to get the COVID-19 vaccine with the theme: You don’t have to be first to get the vaccine. But, now it’s time for you to Be Next. New resources including videos and social media content can be found here:

• Resources in English
• Campaign Videos in English
• Resources in Spanish

Resources for Parents of Adolescents and Teens

Now that the CDC has recommended approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for use in adolescents age 12 to 15, NEW resources are available below to engage parents and talk to them about the vaccine:

• We Can Do This: Parents of Adolescents Toolkit 
• COVID-19 Vaccine for Preteens and Teens Fact Sheet 

• Myths and Facts About COVID-19 Vaccines

Vaccines.gov – Making it Easier to Find Vaccines

Visit vaccines.gov, text GETVAX (438829), or call the National COVID-19 Vaccination Assistance Hotline at 1-800-232-023 to search and find a vaccine near you.

Visit vacunas.gov (Spanish), VACUNA (822862) for Spanish to receive three vaccine sites on your phone within seconds.

STAY CONNECTED

Join the We Can Do This Community Corps: Help in the fight against COVID-19 by encouraging family, friends, and your community to get vaccinated. Join the Community Corps to get tips, tools and resources to share.  See https://wecandothis.hhs.gov/covidcommunitycorps

For more information on CMS COVID-19 Partner Updates, please contact us:  Partnership@cms.hhs.gov

McDonald’s is teaming up with the White House to help get the word out on COVID-19 vaccines. The fast-food chain announced Tuesday it has partnered with the Biden administration to provide customers with access to trusted, independent information on vaccines. The partnership is part of the company’s ongoing efforts to support communities and neighborhoods during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As anticipated, the FDA issued emergency use authorization (EUA) for children 12-15 years old to qualify for the Pfizer vaccine and the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) reviewed the data and made an official recommendation to use the vaccine for this age group. This means that approximately 750,000 more Pennsylvanians will be eligible to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The emergency use authorization marks a critical milestone in the push to get more Americans vaccinated and fully reopen schools for in-person learning this fall. Moderna is expected to submit it EUA for children 12-15 in July.

Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) Acting Secretary Alison Beam announced transition by DOH to using Vaccines.gov as the mapping source to help individuals find a location where they can get vaccinated close to home and with the vaccine they may prefer. Individuals searching for a vaccine can choose between locations having any of the Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. In addition, individuals can text their zip code to GETVAX (438829) for English, or VACUNA (822862) for Spanish and receive three possible vaccination sites in their area, with phone numbers to call for an appointment.

In recognition of the shifting vaccination environment, on May 7, 2021, Pennsylvania Department of Health Acting Secretary of Health Beam issued an additional amendment to her Feb. 12 order directing the administration of vaccine. Effective Monday, May 10, this amendment eliminated several of the original provisions within the order including the requirement to administer 80 percent of vaccine within 7 days, the requirement to adhere to the phased approach in the Interim Vaccination Plan, and requirements related to providing and scheduling second doses. In addition, following new CDC guidance issued on May 13, 2021, the PA Department of Health issued an order lifting, for fully vaccinated individuals, much of the mask mandate. It is important to note that wearing a mask in healthcare facilities is still required.