CNN reports that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released new guidelines that permit people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to safely visit with other vaccinated individuals and small groups of unvaccinated people under certain circumstances. Fully vaccinated people are defined as those who are two weeks past their second dose of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, or two weeks past a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. "The level of precautions taken should be determined by the characteristics of the unvaccinated people, who remain unprotected against COVID-19," the guidelines state. The document specifies that fully vaccinated people can visit other vaccinated people indoors without masks or social distancing; visit indoors with unvaccinated people from a single household without masks or social distancing, provided the unvaccinated people are at low risk for severe disease; and waive quarantine and testing if exposed to someone with the virus and who is asymptomatic, but should watch for symptoms for 14 days. However, the guidelines also say some precautions must still be adhered to, including mask-wearing and social distancing around unvaccinated people who are at increased risk for severe COVID-19, or if the unvaccinated person has a household member who is at higher risk. The same precautions also are recommended when visiting unvaccinated people from multiple households.

WCYB reports that the Commonwealth Senior Living community in Abingdon, Va., has been offering residents virtual reality (VR)-based experiences to mitigate pandemic-induced isolation. Users of the MyndVR headset include Air Force veteran and Commonwealth resident Jack Booher, who has employed the technology to relive memories of when he was stationed in Arizona. MyndVR provides 360-degree movies, ranging from worldwide travel to playing with puppies. The headsets are also easy to clean for mass use during the COVID-19 crisis, with alcohol wipes to ensure each care community has proper sanitizing material.

AbbVie's Allergan Eye Care division has submitted an investigational eye drug for FDA approval that could potentially help more than 128 million Americans read without glasses, reports USA Today . The drug is a pilocarpine eye drop solution, named AGN-190584, that is expected to be approved by the end of this year. The drugs make eye pupils smaller, creating a pinhole effect that increases their depth of focus. The new drug application is based on two randomized trials comprising 750 individuals aged 40-55 years in which patients were treated either with the drug or placebo once a day for 30 days. The studies found that the eye drops were safe and effective, with participants gaining three additional lines on the reading chart in low light compared with those who received placebo. The eye drops began working as soon as 15 minutes after application but reached peak effectiveness after roughly 1 hour. Adverse effects occurred in fewer than 5 percent of patients, including headache and blurred vision.

AARP and AARP Foundation have filed a legal brief arguing that Medicare beneficiaries treated in the hospital under a so-called "observation status" rather than being formally admitted should be permitted to appeal that categorization. The manner in which patients are classified can cost many older Americans thousands of dollars in healthcare costs, especially for rehabilitative treatment needed in skilled nursing communities after leaving the hospital. Often the case is that Medicare enrollees who are hospitalized believe they have been admitted as a regular patient, but are classified as being under observation, even if they get the same treatment and care as someone formally admitted. Such beneficiaries are often shocked to discover that Medicare has not covered their rehab costs because they were not officially inpatients. Last April, a federal district court judge ruled that beneficiaries can appeal their designation as being under observation to the Medicare program, and be reimbursed for some of their hospital and rehab costs if they win that challenge. The federal government has appealed that ruling. The legal brief states that hospitals are increasingly classifying patients as being under observation status out of concern with the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services fining them for over-admitting patients. Legislation strongly backed by AARP has been introduced in Congress that would allow the time patients spend in the hospital under observation status to be counted toward the three-day hospital stay that Medicare demands before it will cover care in a skilled nursing community.

The White House announced over the weekend that nearly 55 percent of Americans 65 or older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, reports the New York Post . "Altogether, we've administered more than 82 million shots — more than any country in the world," declared Andy Slavitt, senior adviser to President Biden's coronavirus response team. He added that two new mass vaccination sites run by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will open soon, for a national total of 18. "The Atlanta Falcons Stadium in Georgia and the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio, will turn into FEMA-supported community vaccination sites with the capacity to deliver 6,000 shots per day each," Slavitt said. "Both of these sites sit in neighborhoods hit hard by the pandemic and are well known in the community." Slavitt concluded that the federal government has opened or expanded over 450 community vaccination sites in an effort to combat the pandemic.

An ongoing U.S. Census Bureau survey suggests that the expansion of COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to younger age groups may cause a decline in the desire to get immunized, reports the Wall Street Journal . The latest poll, conducted with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Center for Health Statistics, surveyed nearly 80,000 adults between Feb. 3 and Feb. 15. In general, the number of Americans saying they will definitely get vaccinated has risen, but willingness among younger adults is still well below that of their older peers. Making respondents who say they will "probably" get shots into those who will "definitely" get inoculated is critical for achieving herd immunity, according to public health officials. Top reasons for respondents' reluctance to get vaccinated include concerns about possible side effects, while those who will probably get vaccinated are much less likely to cite mistrust as an issue, or a belief that the shot will not work or is unnecessary. They are more likely to say they want to wait and see, or that others are in greater need. Vaccine advocates hope that if these unvaccinated segments become convinced of the vaccine's safety — and that those who need it most have already gotten their shots — then they may become more inclined to get immunized.

A new report from the Alzheimer's Association warns that Arizona saw the most dementia deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic and is the fastest growing U.S. state for Alzheimer's cases, according to the Arizona Republic . Arizona also has the highest average weekly hours spent by caregivers for Alzheimer's sufferers, while Terri Spitz with the Alzheimer's Association's Desert Southwest chapter said the pandemic has worsened things for patients and their families. About 1,500 more Arizonans died from dementia in 2020 than expected, with total deaths 30 percent higher than the usual yearly average. Spitz said Arizona is witnessing growth in Alzheimer's disease because retirees are increasingly moving to the state. The Alzheimer's Association projects that by 2025 the number of Arizonans older than 65 with Alzheimer's will climb by 33 percent to 200,000 people. Spitz said the state must educate people about the disease, especially since many do not know or are not notified about their diagnosis. The Association's Desert Southwest chapter offers educational presentations to teach residents to recognize signs of Alzheimer's and dementia, along with support groups for caretakers.

95.3 MNC reports that Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) has unveiled a bill designed to provide economic relief to seniors working during the pandemic. The legislation aims to suspend penalties for most employed Social Security recipients during the crisis. Seniors who continue working or go back to work after claiming Social Security benefits would no longer incur Retirement Earnings Test penalties. The measure would boost early retiree earnings limits for two years.

A study of data from the U.S. Veterans Health Administration in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research suggests a connection between kidney stone disease and risk of osteoporosis or bone fracture in older adults, reports Endocrinology Network . The researchers analyzed 531,431 patients with kidney stone disease. Of these, 125,427 were diagnosed with osteoporosis or fracture in the five years preceding or five years following index stone diagnosis. Of that number, 32,613 were diagnosed with osteoporosis. Results associated the presence of type 2 diabetes, metastatic cancer, enteric disease, hypogonadism, and primary hyperparathyroidism with elevated risk of fracture or osteoporosis diagnosis after index stone diagnosis. "Our findings provide support for wider use of bone mineral density screening in patients with kidney stone disease, including middle-aged and older men, for whom efforts to mitigate risks of osteoporosis and fractures are not commonly emphasized," the investigators concluded. Stanford University's Calyani Ganesa hopes this research will raise awareness of the possibility of kidney stones leading to reduced bone strength. "In our future work, we hope to identify which patients with kidney stones are at higher risk for osteoporosis or fracture to help guide bone density screening efforts by clinicians in this population," she said.

Both Germany and Belgium will recommend that senior citizens get the AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine, reports Medical Xpress . German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced the imminent authorization of the vaccine's distribution to those older than 65 on Wednesday, the same day Belgium greenlit its own rollout to seniors. Both countries previously cited insufficient data about the shot's effect on older populations, but Merkel and Belgium's health minister said that oversight has been corrected by recent studies. Some Germans in first place for a COVID-19 vaccination have rejected the AstraZeneca offer, leaving the country with hundreds of thousands of unused shots. The approved senior rollout is expected to help Germany get through the backlog and accelerate its vaccination push. Meanwhile, Belgium said it would administer the AstraZeneca dose to those older than 55, "starting immediately."