CMS Pulls Back COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement 

CHAP

The following final rule was posted on the Federal Register Public Inspection desk on 5/31/2023. 

This final rule from CMS withdraws the regulations in the interim final rule with comment (IFC) “Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination” published in the November 5, 2021, Federal Register.  The regulations in this final rule are expected to be published in the Federal Register on June 5, 2023, and are effective 60 days after publication, or on Friday, August 4, 2023. Until the effective date, the requirement for staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or documented as exempt is in effect and will be assessed during a compliance survey.

Specific provider-specific regulations that will be removed by the effective date include:

Home health: § 484.70(d) 
§ 484.70(d) Standard: COVID–19 Vaccination of Home Health Agency staff. The home health agency (HHA) must develop and implement policies and procedures to ensure that all staff are fully vaccinated for COVID–19. For purposes of this section, staff are considered fully vaccinated if it has been 2 weeks or more since they completed a primary vaccination series for COVID–19. The completion of a primary vaccination series for COVID–19 is defined here as the administration of a single-dose vaccine, or the administration of all required doses of a multi-dose vaccine. 

Hospice: § 418.60(d) 
§ 418.60(d) Standard: COVID–19 Vaccination of facility staff. The hospice must develop and implement policies and procedures to ensure that all staff are fully vaccinated for COVID–19. For purposes of this section, staff are considered fully vaccinated if it has been 2 weeks or more since they completed a primary vaccination series for COVID–19. The completion of a primary vaccination series for COVID–19 is defined here as the administration of a single-dose vaccine, or the administration of all required doses of a multi-dose vaccine.

Home Infusion Therapy: § 486.525(c)
§ 486.525(c) COVID–19 Vaccination of facility staff. The qualified home infusion therapy supplier must develop and implement policies and procedures to ensure that all staff are fully vaccinated for COVID–19. For purposes of this section, staff are considered fully vaccinated if it has been 2 weeks or more since they completed a primary vaccination series for COVID–19. The completion of a primary vaccination series for COVID–19 is defined here as the administration of a single-dose vaccine, or the administration of all required doses of a multi-dose vaccine.

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