Public Health

The COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project (CVEEP) encourages the aging network to submit imput on a short survey to help identify tools, resources, and strategies for protecting older adults against COVID-19. The deadline to complete the survey is Tuesday, June 21, 2022.

Resilient American Communities (RAC) and BellAge has put together two Winter Holiday Fact Sheets to help older adults stay safe from COVID-19. The fact sheets are based on research that shows many people underestimate the lethal threat that the pandemic presents to older adults and when they understand the risks, they are more likely to take actions to keep them safe.

CMS, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is developing an emergency regulation requiring staff in over 15,000 Medicare and Medicaid-participating nursing homes to get vaccinated. This new requirement is central to protecting the health and safety of nursing home residents and all staff members. Millions of vaccinations have been administered to residents and staff over the last few months and are shown to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, including the Delta variant.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), issued updated guidance for nursing homes to safely expand visitation options during the COVID-19 pandemic public health emergency. This latest guidance comes as more than 3 million doses of vaccines have been administered within nursing homes. Read the full guidance for more information.

The NIDILRR-funded Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Promoting Healthy Aging for People with Long-Term Physical Disabilities recently published a health policy brief on state responses to the social isolation and loneliness faced by adults with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The United Health Foundation, in partnership with the American Public Health Association, released the 26th edition of America's Health Rankings. This report reflects the various factors that affect the health of American's using a state-by-state analysis. Additionally, the report provides information on the progress of different health initiatives and challenges, a comparison with other nations, health rankings by state, and benchmark measures to quantify how health is changing over the years.