NHSN Revises Definition of “Up To Date” for COVID-19 Vaccination

Posted on March 21, 2024 by Kari Everson

The National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) revised its definition of "up to date" for COVID-19 vaccine reporting in long-term care (LTC) facilities.

New recommendations for individuals aged 65 and older

Based on the latest guidance from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), NHSN’s goal is to increase the efficacy of vaccine protection, particularly for individuals aged 65 years and older. There is no change to the guidance for people under 65 years old.

The updated definition says people who are 65 and older are considered up to date with their COVID-19 vaccination if:

• Two doses of the updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine, OR
• One dose of the updated vaccine within the past four months.

Impact on long-term care settings

Use the updated definition for the NHSN Weekly Healthcare Personnel (HCP) and resident vaccination forms. The NHSN Vaccination team scheduled two webinars to explain these changes in the surveillance definition of being up to date with COVID-19 vaccines. Both webinars cover the same content:

• Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at 1 p.m. CT
• Tuesday, April 2, 2024, at 1 p.m. CT

Questions

Use the NHSN-ServiceNow portal to submit inquiries to the NHSN Help Desk. The new portal will replace previous contacts and produce faster response times. Users will authenticate using CDC's Secure Access Management Services (SAMS). If you encounter any issues with ServiceNow access, you can still contact the NHSN Help Desk via email at nhsn@cdc.gov.