As Iowa has administered 1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have updated visitation guidance for nursing homes.

Facilities should now allow responsible indoor visitation at all times and for all residents, regardless of vaccination status of the resident or the visitor. There are some exceptions for unvaccinated residents, if the COVID-19 county positivity rate is greater than 10 percent and less than 70 percent of residents in the facility are fully vaccinated. Other scenarios that would limit visitation are residents with confirmed COVID-19 infection, until they have met the criteria to discontinue transmission-based precautions, and residents in quarantine. The new guidance also states that “compassionate care” visits, in which a resident’s health has sharply declined or is experiencing a significant change in circumstances, should be allowed at all times, regardless of a resident’s vaccination status, the county’s positivity rate, or an outbreak. CMS still recommends facilities to maintain physical distancing and conducting visits outdoors when possible.