From the CDC: COVID-19 Vaccine Information and Resources

From the CDC: COVID-19 Vaccine Information and Resources

UPDATED The CDC's Long Term Care Facility Toolkit is live on the CDC website. This toolkit is meant to be a resource for explaining COVID-19 vaccination to both residents and staff in LTCFs. It includes resources for talking with staff, residents, and families, FAQs on the vaccines, and tips on how to prepare staff and vaccine safety monitoring and reporting. A few items of note in the toolkit are:

• Preparing for COVID-19 Vaccination at Your Facility
• Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19 Vaccination in Long-Term Care Facilities
• Preparing Staff for COVID-19 Vaccination
• Preparing Residents for COVID-19 Vaccination
• Two-page Fact Sheets to Build Vaccine Confidence Among Staff
• Two-Page Fact Sheets to Build Vaccine Confidence Among Residents & Their Families
• Vaccinating Long-Term Care Facility Residents

COVID-19 Vaccination — The CDC's COVID-19 Vaccination Website has been updated to provide clinical resources for each COVID-19 vaccine, including information for COVID-19 vaccination administration, storage and handing, reporting, and patient education.

COVID-19 Vaccination Communication Toolkit — Medical centers, clinics, and clinicians can use or adapt these ready-made materials to build confidence about COVID-19 vaccination among healthcare teams and staff. This toolkit also provides resources that can be used to educate patients and answer questions about the vaccines.

UPDATED An Answer to the Question About Anaphylaxis After COVID-19 Vaccination — The CDC has indicated that as of the morning of December 19, 272,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine had been administered, and of those doses, six recipients experienced anaphylaxis. While the cause of the reactions is not certain, it is suspected that the cause may be the vaccine's polyethylene glycol (PEG) component. The CDC indicated that recipients who experienced a severe adverse reaction should NOT receive a second dose and should NOT get another mRNA vaccine. Rather, they should wait for a vaccine that does not contain PEG.

UPDATED V-safe After Vaccination Health Checker — CDC has launched the new v-safe after vaccination health checker and is recommending that all vaccine recipients register with the v-safe system. V-safe web pages feature information on how to register and complete a v-safe health check-in after receiving the COVID-19 vaccination.

Post Vaccine Considerations for Residents — This guidance is intended for long-term care facilities. These considerations are based on the current understanding of signs and symptoms following COVID-19 vaccination, including timing and duration, and might change as experience with the vaccine accumulates. For more information on vaccine safety monitoring, visit the CDC's page Vaccine Safety Monitoring and Reporting in Your Facility.

Importance of COVID-19 Vaccination for Residents of Long-term Care Facilities — Based on recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, an independent panel of medical and public health experts, CDC recommends residents of long-term care facilities be included among those offered the first supply of COVID-19 vaccines. To learn more, please visit, Vaccinating Long-Term Care Facility Residents.