After criticism over the slow rollout of COVID-19 vaccines to long-term care facilities and elsewhere, the federal government said it is taking “immediate action” to lay out ways for states to speed up vaccine administration.
Virus-related matters will dominate the actions of senior living owners and operators for the time being, industry leaders told McKnight’s Senior Living.
A $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill is on its way to the president’s desk after being passed by both houses of Congress by late Monday. Trade associations representing senior living operators, however, say they are disappointed in its provisions.
Both the House and Senate on Monday night approved a $900 billion COVID-19 stimulus package that will provide direct payments and jobless aid to Americans as well as needed funding for small businesses and long-term care facilities to help with vaccine distribution.
The federal government is allocating an additional 30 million Abbott BinaxNOW rapid antigen tests to assisted living communities and other vulnerable groups through at least March.
Operators facing “significant hardships” soon may get some relief, thanks to expanded Phase 3 payments. In all, another $4.5 billion has been added to the program. Assisted living operators are expected to receive $140 million of that total.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the vulnerable health status of older adults, but it also revealed the “vital role” that senior living communities play in the larger care continuum, according to a Plante Moran research report.
With the promise of COVID-19 vaccines on the horizon and a nod to prioritizing senior living and other long-term care residents as the first recipients of those vaccines, provider organizations are turning their attention to states, where governors are creating distribution plans.
With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s advisory committee set to vote today on the first priority groups to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, major aging services organizations are calling on the federal government and states to not leave older adults and their caregivers behind again.
Congress may pass another coronavirus relief bill before the end of the year, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) said Thursday at the American Seniors Housing Association’s Chairman’s Circle virtual event.
