Skilled nursing facilities should have received a message from CMS last week encouraging weekly reporting of vaccination uptake rates to the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) via the
Vaccine Reporting Module. AHCA/NCAL has also previously
encouraged this reporting by long term care facilities enrolled in NHSN.
This reporting is important for two key reasons. First, it provides facilities the ability to effectively track their own uptake rates, which now links to CMS’
revised visitation guidance. Second, it is important to provide this information to the CDC so they can track the effectiveness of the vaccines in long term care, which is necessary for any further easing of restrictions, such as testing or PPE.