The federal government has announced that they will implement emergency regulations that require all nursing homes to require vaccination for their staff or face loss of Medicare and Medicaid funds. This will apply to more than 15,000 nursing home facilities which employ about 1.3 million workers. CMS estimates that 40% of nursing home workers are not vaccinated. And, the Hillsborough School Board voted today to require masks for students and staff for 30 days beginning tomorrow. . Since the start of classes, nearly 6,000 students and employees have been asked to isolate or quarantine due to SARS-CoV-2 infection or exposure.
The Biden administration plans to begin offering Covid-19 booster shots to all American adults starting Sept. 20, amid growing evidence that a third dose of the vaccine will be needed to maintain immunity against the virus. Administration officials on Wednesday strongly recommended booster shots for Americans who received the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna coronavirus vaccines. Officials say people should get that additional shot eight months after receiving their second dose and is contingent on authorization from the FDA and a review by the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee. Three studies published Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that protection against the coronavirus given by vaccines declined in the midsummer months when the more contagious delta variant rose to dominance in the United States. At the same time, protection against hospitalization was strong for weeks after vaccination, indicating the shots will generate immune fighters that stave off the worst effects of the virus and its current variations.
CSSE is reporting 37,127,962 positive cases in the U.S. and 624,263 deaths. Maintaining oxygen supplies in Hospitals is a critical problem.
