Did You Know? RSV and Vaccination for Older Adults
This guide, updated in October 2023, answers common questions regarding RSV vaccination, including: what RSV is, available vaccines and their safety/ efficacy profiles, FDA-approved indications and CDC recommendations, risk factors for severe disease, coding and billing considerations, and vaccine product specifications such as requirements for storage, preparation, and administration.
Did You Know? FDA-Approved Updated (2023-24) COVID-19 Vaccines for Adults
This guide, updated in October 2023, reviews the two FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines for adults: SPIKEVAX (Moderna) and COMIRNATY (Pfizer-BioNTech). This resource includes current information on clinical indications and recommendations, safety and efficacy data, and vaccine product specifications from the CDC.
New CDC Report on Disease Severity of RSV vs COVID-19 and Influenza in Hospitalized Adults 60 and Older
During February 2022-May 2023, hospitalizations for RSV were less frequent but were associated with more severe disease than were hospitalizations for COVID-19 or influenza. The potential for severe RSV disease among older adults continues to be important as part of shared clinical decision-making when assessing the benefit of RSV vaccination among adults aged ≥60 years.
New CDC Report on Recommendations for Updated COVID-19 Vaccines
On September 12, 2023, the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended vaccination with updated COVID-19 vaccines for all persons aged ≥6 months. These updated COVID-19 vaccines are meant to broaden vaccine-induced immunity and provide protection against the currently circulating SARS-CoV-2 XBB-sublineage variants, including against severe COVID-19-associated illness and death.
FDA Makes Key Label Updates for NUPLAZID® (pimavanserin)
The FDA has made two important changes to the NUPLAZID® label:
(1) clarifying that its use in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD)-related hallucinations and delusions, with or without dementia, is consistent with the current indication and (2) revising the Boxed Warning language to clarify that the drug is approved to treat patients with PD-related hallucinations and delusions who also have dementia. The new language in the Boxed Warning is underlined below:
Elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis treated with antipsychotic drugs are at an increased risk of death.
NUPLAZID® is not approved for the treatment of patients with dementia who experience psychosis unless their hallucinations and delusions are related to Parkinson’s disease.
Changes to MDS 3.0-1.18.11 took effect on October 1, 2023, and will influence PDPM rate calculations and other issues that impact reimbursement and compliance. These resources — a comprehensive guide that reviews key updates and a Compliance Cue focused on high-risk drugs in Section N — will help you and your staff understand what's new.
Episode 15 of our Spoonful of Sugar podcast, recorded live at the AHCA/NCAL Conference in October, features AHCA/NCAL President and CEO Mark Parkinson, along with John O’Connor from McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, and TJ Griffin, Chief Clinical Officer at PharMerica. Hear them discuss the current landscape and challenges facing the long-term care sector, the shift toward patient-centered care, and how technology can enhance care and residents’ well-being.
