COVID-19 vaccines offer high levels of protection against severe disease, hospitalization, and death — especially for people who receive vaccine boosters. The American Academy of Family Physicians is committed to enhancing awareness among family physicians and primary care teams of the significance of COVID-19 vaccinations. Family physicians and other primary care clinicians are trusted sources of health information. As you care for your patients of all ages, it is important to strongly recommend COVID-19 vaccinations.
This evidence-based tool will help you initiate discussions with patients, parents and caregivers about the critical importance of vaccinations to prevent COVID-19 infections or minimize their severity.
The FDA issued an advisory and an updated fact sheet this week regarding the correct dosage of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for infants and young children.
The American Medical Association (AMA) CPT Editorial Panel has updated its COVID-19 vaccine coding guidance with the release of COVID shots reformulated to target new variants. Read a summary of the updated guidance and get a list of the new active codes on FMP Journal's Getting Paid blog.
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Virus mutations are common, and SARS-CoV-2 variants continue being detected. The CDC is monitoring these variants and tracking spread across the U.S., as well as the effect on infection and disease. Researchers are also checking vaccine effectiveness against the different variants.
As of Nov. 30, the CDC recognized Omicron as a new variant of concern. There aren't a lot of details at this time. They will continue tracking the mutation and its impact.
This past summer and fall, the Delta variant spread faster and caused more infections. According to the CDC, it has
It is important to note that all the variants appear to have increased efficiency in spreading from person to person so the use of mitigation measures like masks, ventilation, hand washing, physical distancing, and quarantine are paramount. A Variant Classification scheme that defines classes of SARS-CoV-2 variants has been developed and information for the different variants is provided at the CDC's variant page.
The B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), P.1 (Gamma), B.1.427 (Epsilon), B.1.429 (Epsilon), and B.1.617.2 (Delta) variants circulating in the United States are classified as variants of concern. Use the CDC's map to see where the different variants are found in the U.S.
The American Medical Association continues publishing COVID-19 vaccine and administration codes. Their unique structure allows for tracking and accommodating multiple COVID-19 vaccines.
Check out information on the CDC's COVID-19 site, including:
Expect updates to this site, plus CDC’s Vaccination and Immunization site, as more information is available. It's critical that jurisdictions and federal entities receiving vaccine have information to implement an effective COVID-19 vaccination program.
