These changes reflect a shift in focus from eliminating COVID-19 transmission to limiting the impact of severe COVID-19 illness on health and society. Changes are intended for the general public only and do not apply to healthcare settings. A principal goal of these CDC changes is to give states and communities more flexibility to make decisions about prevention methods to reduce the impact of COVID in their state/locality.

The changes focus on three points:

• Most people in the US have some level of immunity.
• Healthcare resources should not be strained unnecessarily.
• CDC wants health and public health to be focused on those most vulnerable to severe illness.

Here are the top things LeadingAge members need to know:

CDC will be using new COVID-19 metrics.

Since September 2020, CDC has been using 2 metrics to indicate COVID-19 community transmission (cases per 100,000 and percent positivity). Neither of these metrics indicate medically significant disease or healthcare strain. As such, CDC has developed new metrics.

The new metrics, collectively called “COVID-19 Community Levels” will utilize a color-coded system to communicate the impact of COVID-19 on the community and the healthcare system. The metrics will utilize 2 key pieces of data:

• New COVID-19 hospital admissions
• Percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients

This data will be measured over a 7-day period and broken down according to the number of new cases per 100,000. Individuals and communities will adopt prevention behaviors and public health strategies according to the new COVID-19 Community Levels indicators. Read more about the metrics and recommended prevention strategies here.

The new indicators and recommendations do not apply to healthcare settings.

The new indicators and prevention strategies are general public health guidance and do not apply to healthcare settings. LeadingAge healthcare members including nursing homes, assisted living, and healthcare providers in the home and community (e.g. home health, hospice) should continue to follow the CDC recommendations for healthcare settings.

Access these guidance documents here:

Infection Prevention and Control for Healthcare Settings

Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Nursing Homes

CDC will continue to regularly update Community Transmission Rates metrics.

LeadingAge members including nursing homes and other settings will continue to utilize the CDC Community Transmission Rates to determine infection prevention measures such as routine screening testing and source control. CDC will continue to update the community transmission rates and they can be accessed here:

CDC COVID-19 Data Tracker

LeadingAge Advocacy and Action

In response, Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge, sent a letter to HHS and CMS, and released the following statement to the press:

“News from the CDC today that our country has entered a new phase of the pandemic is certainly positive. While a shift toward pre-pandemic life is exciting, we remind America that a return to “normal” is important for older adults living in long-term care, too. These communities are home to millions of residents who deserve parity with the rest of the country. We urge the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to move quickly in reassessing guidance for long term care settings. Do not leave long-term care residents behind.”