Summary of Key Points: New Optional Event-Level COVID-19 Vaccination Forms in NHSN (replacing the Excel Data Tracking Worksheets)

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The NHSN Vaccination Team hosted two office hours webinars for the Event-Level COVID-19 Vaccination Forms on Tuesday, April 12th and Tuesday, April 19th. During these webinars, CDC provided long-term care facilities with an overview of how to use this feature to manage person-level vaccination data directly in the application for the COVID-19 Vaccination Modules and discussed frequently asked questions in detail.

The slides used during the webinars are linked under the “Educational Resources” section of this message, and webinar recordings will be posted on the NHSN website at a later date.

Summary of Key Points:

  • The Event-Level COVID-19 Vaccination Forms are available in the NHSN application for long-term care facilities (other modules coming soon) to manage person-level vaccination data and simplify summarizing data for weekly COVID-19 Vaccination Modules.
  • There are three ways to report data: directly into the COVID-19 Vaccination Modules, via .CSV upload, or by selecting the ‘View reporting summary and submit’ button of the Event-Level COVID-19 Vaccination Forms.
  • SAMS Level 3 access is required to complete reporting using the Event-Level COVID-19 vaccination forms. If your facility does not have a Level 3 user, please contact the SAMS Help Desk between the hours of 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM EST Monday through Friday (excepting U.S. Federal holidays) at the following: Toll Free: 877-681-2901; E-mail: samshelp@cdc.gov. You can also find additional information in the SAMS User FAQs published on the SAMS Homepage at https://sams.cdc.gov.
  • Data are entered line by line in the optional Event-Level COVID-19 Vaccination Forms, similar to the Excel Data Tracking Worksheet.
  • You can complete a one-time upload of any current data in the Excel Data Tracking Worksheet to the NHSN Event-Level COVID-19 Vaccination Forms. Once your data are transferred to the NHSN application, do not continue to use/re-upload the Excel Data Tracking Worksheet because the two tools do not function the same way.
  • You can export a .CSV file and upload data via .CSV .CSV files templates and examples for healthcare personnel and residents of long-term care facilities are available on the NHSN website: https://www.cdc.gov/nhsn/pdfs/ltc/covidvax/c19-event-layout-508.pdf.
  • There is no need to enter a new line for an individual each week or when their status changes; instead, Event-Level COVID-19 Vaccination Forms capture changes in individuals’ vaccination status over time.

The one exception is for extended leave. If a healthcare worker goes on leave for longer than 2 weeks (14 days) and returns to work after more than 2 weeks, or if a resident is discharged or leaves the facility for any reason for longer than 1 week (7 days) and returns or is re-admitted after more than 1 week:

– You should enter a discharge/end date on the day they were discharged or left.

– When they return or are re-admitted, you should duplicate their row (using the + button next to their row) and enter a new admission date on their new row.

  • These forms allow users to record religious exemption as a reason for declining COVID-19 vaccination.
  • 2nd booster dose fields will be added to the forms.

Coming Soon – May 2022 Release:

  • The Event-Level COVID-19 Vaccination Forms will include new columns to record second and third booster doses.
  • The weekly summary form will include a question on “number of individuals who are up to date on COVID-19 vaccines.” This field will be auto-calculated for those using and submitting data with the Event-Level COVID-19 Vaccination Forms.
  • The weekly resident summary form will include questions on number of residents who received only one booster dose, and number of residents who received two or more booster doses. These fields will be auto-calculated for those using and submitting data with the Event-Level COVID-19 Vaccination Forms.
  • Rows will no longer appear green after submission for individuals with a discharge date earlier than 3/28/2022.

Note: NHSN encourages facilities to enter the same IDs for residents and healthcare personnel as those used for reporting the POC Tool and the RIFC Event-Level Form when applicable.

Educational Resources:

For specific information about CMS reporting requirements for long-term care facilities, please contact CMS at: DNH_TriageTeam@cms.hhs.gov.