CDC Updates Key COVID-19 Vaccination Web Page Confirming Nursing Home Routine Testing Requirement for Unboosted 50+ Staff

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) eliminated some ambiguity regarding the definition of "up to date" with COVID-19 vaccinations last week when it aligned its COVID-19 vaccination web page for the general public with its clinical guidance. As a result of this change, it is now clear that nursing home staff who are age 50 and over, and staff of any age who are moderately or severely immunocompromised, and are at least four months beyond their first booster must be routinely tested for COVID-19 if they have not received a second booster shot.

As previously reported here, the COVID-19 vaccination web page for the general public is the source referenced in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) nursing home testing guidance. Both the clinical guidance and the general public guidance now define “up to date” with COVID-19 vaccinations to include the second booster for adults age 50 and over and individuals age 12 and over who are moderately or severely immunocompromised and are at least four months beyond their first booster. CMS testing guidance requires staff who are not up to date to be routinely tested for COVID-19 based on community transmission rates. 

The new definition of "up to date" also has implications for work exclusion, quarantine, and visitation (e.g., visitation in rooms with residents who are not up to date and quarantine after off-site visits). 

Contact: Karen Lipson, klipson@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8838