Clinical Updates from DOH and CDC
LeadingAge NY members should take note of a new Department of Health (DOH) advisory on monoclonal antibody treatment recommendations and a new vaccination screening checklist for individuals age 12 and over, as well as updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) antigen testing guidance issued on Jan. 20th.
The screening checklist provides a series of questions for individuals age 12 and over who are receiving vaccinations and is available here.
The monoclonal antibody treatment guidance, available here, states in part:
Due to the high proportion of Omicron cases present in New York State, starting January 18, 2022 the New York State Department of Health will no longer be fulfilling provider requests for bamlanivimab with etesevimab (BAM/ETE), etesevimab by itself to pair with bamlanivimab on hand, or REGEN-COV.
We are asking providers that have BAM/ETE and REGEN-COV on-hand to pause use and maintain remaining supplies of these mAbs under proper storage conditions so that they may be used if the situation changes. If a provider can utilize testing to distinguish between variants (i.e., infections caused by Omicron vs. Delta) and can subsequently treat those individuals within the appropriate treatment window, they may continue to use product on-hand. If a provider, based on their clinical judgement and availability of product, chooses to prescribe REGEN-COV or BAM/ETE without being able to identify the variant type, they should clearly communicate the risks and benefits to the patient and communicate that the therapy may not be effective.
The antigen testing guidance states in part:
- This interim guidance is intended for healthcare providers who order antigen tests, receive antigen test results, or perform point-of-care testing, as well as for laboratory professionals who perform antigen testing in a laboratory setting or at the point-of-care and report those results.
- The purpose of this interim technical guidance is to support effective clinical and public health use of antigen tests for different testing situations.
- This guidance applies to all clinical and culturally responsive, accessible, and available consumer uses of antigen tests and is inclusive of all age groups.
- This guidance incorporates considerations for people who are up to date with their vaccines and should be used in conjunction with CDC’s Stay Up to Date with Your Vaccines recommendations.
Members are urged to read each guidance document in its entirety and contact Amy Nelson with any questions.
Contact: Amy Nelson, anelson@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8383 ext. 146