The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the state and federal government as of 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 16.

Pennsylvania Update

Governor Wolf

• Governor Wolf announced that he is easing some of the state’s restrictions on businesses that were imposed to mitigate against the spread of COVID-19.  Effective April 4, limits on participation will partially be eased for restaurants, bars, gyms, entertainment facilities (casinos, theaters, malls, personal service facilities), indoor facilities, and mass gatherings.  Mask and social distancing requirements will still apply.  Learn more from this Wolf administration news release.
• Governor Wolf and members of the COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force announced a bipartisan effort to complete COVID phase 1A vaccinations first, set up mass vaccination clinics with regionally supplied plans to inform allocations, and vaccinate frontline workers.  Learn more from a Wolf administration news release.
• The COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force created by Governor Wolf has announced subcommittees focused on key audiences and issues.  The new subcommittees are for aging, racial equity, business/workforce, and education, with subcommittee members representing stakeholders and advocates, state agencies, workers, academics, industry, and other interested parties.  Last week the task force announced a special initiative to vaccinate teachers, school staff, and child care workers.

Department of Human Services

• The Department of Human Services has issued a Medical Assistance bulletin about the addition of CPT code 0031A to the MA Program Fee Schedule, effective February 27, 2021, for the administration of the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen Biotech) vaccine.  This code is to be used by providers in both the fee-for-service and managed care delivery systems.
• DHS announced that Pennsylvania will expand its partnership with Rite Aid to vaccinate 9,000 individuals with physical disabilities and older Pennsylvanians participating in DHS’s home and community-based long-term services and supports program during vaccination clinics through March and April.

Department of Health

• Acting Secretary of Health Beam issued an order making March 31 the date by which all vaccine providers should have Phase 1A-eligible Pennsylvanians’ vaccine appointments scheduled.  See the Department of Health announcement and the department’s order.
• The same order also requires providers to make appointments with patients outside of their current patient network.
• The Department of Health announced that beginning on Tuesday, March 16, a long-term indoor walk-in COVID-19 testing site will open in Dauphin County.  Testing will be available daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every Tuesday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Saturday until Saturday, April 10, with the opportunity to extend past that date based on need.  The testing site is located at Strawberry Square, 320 Market Street in Harrisburg.
• The Department of Health announced that beginning on Tuesday, March 16, a rotating drive-through and indoor walk-in COVID-19 testing site will open in Blair County.  Testing will be available daily from 9 AM to 6 PM, every Tuesday through Saturday, until Saturday, April 3, with the opportunity to extend past that date based on need.  Go here for information about the different sites and their hours of operation.
• The Department of Health has issued updated quarantine recommendations for persons exposed to COVID-19.  The update includes information both for individuals who are and who are not fully vaccinated.
• The Department of Health has updated work restrictions for health care workers who have been exposed to COVID-19 to clarify its post-exposure recommendations for exposures that occur outside of health care settings.
• The Department of Health, Department of Human Services, and Department of Aging have jointly urged Pennsylvania long-term-care facilities to implement the new guidance for nursing home visitation established by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).  Go here to see the joint announcement from the three state agencies and go here to see the new federal guidance.

Department of Health – by the numbers

• The number of new COVID-19 cases has fallen significantly since November and December but the decline has ended and the daily numbers are comparable to what they were a month ago.
• Today Pennsylvania’s total COVID-19 case count surpassed 970,000 – more than 7.5 percent of the state’s population.The daily death toll, too, while much less than it was in November and December, has only declined modestly the past two weeks.
• For the week from March 5 through March 11 the state’s overall COVID-19 test positivity rate fell to 5.7 percent, the same as last week.
• The numbers of Pennsylvanians hospitalized with COVID-19 in hospital ICUs with COVID-19, and on ventilators being treated for COVID-19 has declined just slightly in the past week.
• Currently, 22 percent of adult ICU beds in the state are unoccupied, as are 17 percent of medical/surgical beds, 15 percent of pediatric ICU beds, 29 percent of pediatric beds, and 37 percent of airborne isolation units.
• As of March 16 the state’s vaccine dashboard shows that nearly 1.2 million Pennsylvanians have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 1.3 million have received both doses of a vaccine; the latter increase is 30 percent over the past six days.  These numbers do not include Philadelphia, which operates its own COVID-19 vaccination program.
• The vaccine dashboard shows vaccine totals by county.
• Philadelphia’s Department of Public Health reports that as of March 16, 526,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the city:  380,000 first doses and 146,000 second doses.

Department of General Services

The Department of General Services announced that the state Capitol building will reopen to the public on March 22.  It closed to the public on December 10 amid rising numbers of COVID-19 cases.

Around the State

• Allegheny County will open three new vaccination sites by the end of the month, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
• Another Allegheny County site already opened, hosted by UPMC and the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team and staged at PPG Paints Arena, is now open and administering more than 1000 vaccines a day, the Tribune-Review notes.
• Federally funded health clinics, with their own groups of patients, are starting to get COVID-19 vaccines to more people of color, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
• The COVID-19 crisis is being credited with spurring a mental health crisis that is leading to long waits for care and a shortage of beds in Philadelphia-area hospitals and mental health facilities, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
• York County has established a web site for residents to get information about COVID-19 vaccine eligibility and availability and more, the York Dispatch reports.
• The arrival of spring means allergy sufferers will again face seasonal symptoms that are similar in some ways to those for COVID-19.  The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review consulted medical experts to help readers distinguish between the two.
• The Allentown Morning Call chronicles the challenges of finding and getting a COVID-19 vaccine in the Lehigh Valley.

Resources to Consult

Pennsylvania Department of Human Services

Main COVID-19 Page

COVID-19 Provider Resources

Press Releases

Pennsylvania Department of Health

Main COVID-19 Page

PA Health Alert Network

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Main COVID-19 Page

FAQ

Federal Update

White House

• The White House has posted a transcript of the March 15 press briefing provided by its COVID-19 response team and public health officials.  During the briefing, White House officials noted that under to the American Rescue Plan (the COVID-19 relief bill), the federal government will now cover 100 percent of the cost for Medicaid and children’s health insurance beneficiaries to get vaccinated.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

• CMS announced that it is increasing Medicare payments for administering COVID-19 vaccines.  Effective for COVID-19 vaccines administered on or after March 15, 2021, the national average payment rate for physicians, hospitals, pharmacies, and many other immunizers will be $40 to administer each dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.  This represents an increase from approximately $28 to $40 for the administration of single-dose vaccines and an increase from approximately $45 to $80 for the administration of COVID-19 vaccines requiring two doses.  The exact rate will depend on the type of entity furnishing the service and will be geographically adjusted.  Resources that provide additional information about this increase include:
  • CMS’s announcement of the new policy
  • updated billing codes for administering vaccines
  • a special edition of the online CMS publication MLN Connects, which also offers links to additional payment-related resources.
• CMS has issued a correction notice making changes in the telehealth list finalized in the Medicare physician fee schedule rule that affects providers that bill for evaluation and management services as part of those telehealth visits.  The notice explains that CMS “inadvertently included” CPT codes 99221, 99222, and 99223 in the table that represents the Category 3 temporary additions to the telehealth list through the end of 2021 or the year in which the COVID-19 public health emergency ends.  These are evaluation and management codes for initial hospital care (30, 50, 70+ minutes).  This does not affect the ability of providers to bill for these services during the public health emergency.
• CMS has released a fact sheet that outlines how the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 – the COVID-19 relief bill – affects the health care marketplace, the cost of health insurance, and access to subsidized insurance made available through the Affordable Care Act.  Find that fact sheet here.
• CMS has introduced an infographic presenting its new guidance for visiting nursing homes.  This infographic is available in English and Spanish.
• In recent days CMS has issued two dozen section 1135 waivers to give states greater flexibility to serve their Medicaid beneficiaries during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

HHS COVID-19 Stakeholder Calls

HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response sponsors COVID-19 Clinical Rounds Peer-to-Peer Virtual Communities of Practice that are interactive virtual learning sessions that seek to create a peer-to-peer learning network in which clinicians from the U.S. and abroad who have experience treating patients with COVID-19 share their challenges and successes.  These webinar topics are covered every week:

• EMS:  Patient Care and Operations (Mondays, 12:00-1:00 PM eastern)
• Critical Care:  Lifesaving Treatment and Clinical Operations (Tuesdays, 12:00-1:00 PM eastern)
• Emergency Department:  Patient Care and Clinical Operations (Thursdays, 12:00-1:00 PM eastern)

Go here for information about signing up to participate in the sessions and go here for access to materials and video recordings of past sessions.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• The CDC has updated its guidance to essential workers on when and how to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
• The CDC has updated its guidance for people at high risk of serious illness about the advisability of receiving COVID-19 vaccines.
• The CDC has updated its case for older Americans to receive COVID-19 vaccines.
• The CDC has updated its information about adverse events resulting from COVID-19 vaccines.
• The CDC has published a study analyzing the rate at which individuals receiving two-dose COVID-19 vaccines successfully receive both doses.

Food and Drug Administration

• The FDA has issued emergency use authorization for Propofol-Lipuro 1% injectable emulsion for infusion to maintain sedation via continuous infusion in patients greater than 16 years old who require mechanical ventilation in an intensive care unit as part of treatment for COVID-19.  For additional information, see the FDA’s letter issuing this emergency use authorization and a separate fact sheet on the use of Propofol-Lipuro 1% injectable emulsion.
• The FDA has issued a warning to clinical laboratory staff, point-of-care facility staff, and health care providers that false positive results can occur with the Roche Molecular Systems, Inc. cobas COVID-19 & Influenza A/B Nucleic Acid Test.