Regulations Regarding COVID-19 Vaccinations of Nursing Home and ACF Residents and Personnel
The regulations requiring nursing homes and adult care facilities (ACFs) to offer the opportunity for residents and staff to get vaccinated were republished again on July 30th without amendment. LeadingAge NY had raised again in our recent letter to the Public Health and Health Planning Council (PHHPC) and in previous communications with the Department of Health (DOH) a concern that each new effective date with the republication of regulations seemed to trigger again the requirement to newly record every declination of residents and staff. This spurred significant discussion during the meeting, and we are pleased to report that Jaclyn Sheltry, Senior Attorney, DOH Bureau of Program Counsel, who presented on the regulation at the PHHPC meeting, clarified that nursing homes and ACFs do not have to obtain new declinations with the republication of the regulation. The Department continues to stress that vaccination of staff and residents should continue to be a priority for nursing homes and ACFs, however. Ms. Sheltry indicated that the Department would consider written clarification regarding this issue, which we have yet to see. Nonetheless, we believe that members can accept this as formal clarification from DOH, and this republication should not prompt the need to get newly signed declinations for those who do not want the vaccine.
Contact: Diane Darbyshire, ddarbyshire@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8828