Xavier Becerra headshot
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra

COVID-19 is still around, and the stakes remain high, prompting the federal government to call on senior living and care providers to continue their push to vaccinate the older adults in their care.

Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra spoke Wednesday during a LeadingAge membership call to encourage providers to continue to partner with the federal government to increase the rate of updated COVID-19 vaccinations, particularly among long-term care residents.

In November, LeadingAge and the American Health Care Association / National Center for Assisted Living issued an “all hands on deck” rallying cry to increase booster shot rates in long-term care settings, especially nursing homes. The push was in response to a White House announcement regarding a campaign to urge Americans, particularly older adults, to get their updated COVID-19 vaccine.

Over the past week, Becerra said, 70% of new daily COVID-19 hospital admissions were older adults, with people aged 65 or more years accounting for the greatest share of COVID-19 deaths compared with any other time during the pandemic.

Becerra used nursing homes as an example, stating that although 86% of residents received their initial COVID-19 series, fewer than half are up to date on their vaccinations. The renewal of the COVID-19 public health emergency earlier this month came as a new omicron variant is taking hold across the country, and only 38% of older adults had received a bivalent booster as of that point, according to the CDC.

“We still have a lot of work to do,” Becerra said. “We’ve done some good work. We’ve had some successes, but we aren’t through this yet.”

Bivalent boosters, he said, are not only critically important; they are effective against the more infectious variants. The CDC reported Friday that older adults are “very unlikely” to experience an ischemic stroke soon after receiving Pfizer-BioNTech’s bivalent COVID-19 vaccine booster. 

Although the CDC indicated that it would continue to investigate the incidence of stroke, no changes were made to the recommendation that all eligible people receive the shot, especially older adults and others vulnerable to severe COVID-19.

Feds commit to boosting vaccination rates

Becerra recounted the government’s $500 million commitment to boosting vaccination rates — including $125 million for clinics and in-home vaccinations, as well as $350 million targeted for community health centers to help expand vaccinations for non-nursing home residents.

In response to LeadingAge’s request to push hospitals to vaccinate older adults at discharge, Becerra said that HHS is working to make that possible. 

“We have a lot to do. We have lives to save. We have workers to appreciate and support,” he said, praising LeadingAge for partnering with the federal government on vaccinations. “You came forward with legitimate requests and action plans. We will continue to do what we can.”

As the country enters the fourth year of dealing with COVID-19, the federal government earlier this month offered its assistance on testing access, vaccines and guidance on antiviral treatments. That action followed the White House release of a COVID-19 Winter Preparedness Plan to help long-term care facilities manage the virus, focusing on improving bivalent booster uptake, increasing access to testing and treatments, and improving indoor air quality.

LeadingAge recently set up a portal to allow providers across all care settings — including assisted living — to apply for free COVID-19 test kits. In response to questions on the process, LeadingAge has created a frequently asked questions page to provide information on COVID-19 test ordering.