Coronavirus Update

Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines for children age 6 months and older approved by the FDA

• June 17, 2022: The FDA approved both Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines for children age 6 months and older under the “emergency use authorization (EUA)”
• Moderna was approved for children age 6 months through 17 years of age
• Pfizer-BioNTech was approved for children 6 months through 4 (already approved for ages 5 and older)
• COVID Vaccine: What Parents Need to Know Johns Hopkins, June 22, 2022

• Federal government-operated aircraft, boats, and marine transportation require masks, commercial airlines ended mandates with the Florida Federal Judge ruling against the mandate on April 18, 2022
• State by state masks for “high-risk individuals” are either required or recommended, specifically in healthcare settings
• Please bookmark COVID-19 Policy Dashboard for quick access to state by state mandates, policies and vaccine status.

• The vaccine does not prevent a vaccinated person from being infected with Omicron nor the sub variants however it may reduce the severity of the symptoms depending upon the length of time between the vaccine and the infection
• They are 15% more contagious than their prior BA.2 variant and multiple reinfection rates are more common
• BA.4 and BA.5 are the 2 Omicron sub-variants and responsible for >50% of new cases in the US as of 6/25
• The two variants evade immunity protection or vaccination, so prior infection and/or vaccines will not prevent you from becoming infected
• Boosters are indicated for individuals 80+ and suggested for high risk individuals 60+

(CDCs weekly update on variant type in the US, data as of 7/3/22)

COVID–19 and the respective variants are still infecting individuals, including those that are vaccinated, boosted and have already had COVID-19. As an on-going concern, key internal stakeholders should:

• Continue to review work-place mask mandates
• Evaluate vaccine policies and reimbursement
• Support employees affected by COVID-19 through HR policies

Optimatum is a vendor management firm that focuses exclusively on the HR supply chain with turnkey solutions that improve the financial, operating performance, transparency and accountability of HR Benefit programs while still maintaining existing vendor relationships.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought new HR related considerations including disrupted medical spend trends, the need for flexible work arrangements and time off polices, retention considerations etc. Additionally, economic climate changes have made bottom line savings more important than ever.

Optimatum’s clients routinely experience up to 10% savings on their healthcare spend through vendor management, HR harmonization, as well as general policy and process improvement. Please reach out to discuss how Optimatum can support your navigation through this complex environment.