Last week, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) implementing President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate covering employers with at least 100 employees. The ETS is summarized here, including the general compliance deadline of 30 days from November 5, 2021, with an additional 30 days for testing to
vaccination
Long-Term Care Facilities Must Educate, Offer, and Report on COVID-19 Vaccinations for Residents and Staff, According to CMS Interim Rule
On May 11, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services published an interim final rule/guidance to establish COVID-19 vaccination requirements for Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities. The requirements are applicable to both residents and staff. LTC facilities have already been managing COVID-19 vaccination requirements both…
COVID-19 Vaccination: Setting Up An On-site Program
The Biden administration reportedly has called for all people at least 18 to be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine by April 19, 2021, two weeks earlier than its prior goal of May 1, and less than a week away. Most states have already done so. Without the barriers created by state-by-state priority rules, the…
Travel 2.0: Vaccine Passports and Visas—What’s Next on the Horizon
One of the industries perhaps hardest hit by the coronavirus, the travel industry, received welcomed news late last week in the form of CDC guidance stating that people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can resume domestic travel and do not need to get tested for COVID-19 before or after travel or self-quarantine after travel.
According to…
California State Healthcare Worker Accesses COVID-19 Data on More Than 2,000 Patients and Employees
As we noted in late January 2020, the spread of infectious disease raises particular concerns for healthcare workers who want to do their jobs and care for their patients, while also protect themselves and their families. Perhaps the desire to protect one’s self and family is what motivated a California state healthcare worker to access…
More Movement towards Digital COVID Vaccination Records
A key tech initiative as COVID-19 vaccinations begin rolling out are digital health passports. One example is being developed by a group of large tech companies along with the Mayo Clinic as part of the Vaccination Credential Initiative. The Initiative’s digital vaccination record will likely be a smartphone app. The Initiative is leveraging the CommonPass…
Want to Know if Your Employees Received the COVID-19 Vaccine? Some Best Practices to Consider
While its rollout has been slow, the vaccine is being administered across the U.S. and in other countries. As of January 15, 2021, nearly 36 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, just over 11 million in the U.S. For a variety of reasons, organizations want to know whether their workforce members…