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The CDC on Sept. 24 issued a recommendation for health care workers and frontline essential workers who are at increased risk of COVID-19 to receive the booster shot at least six months after receiving their first series of the Pfizer vaccine.

All health care providers, including dentists, will soon be required to comply with a new federal regulation that aims to enhance a patient’s right to access their health information. Under the new rule, patients will have greater and, at times, immediate access to health information.

Federal and state laws requiring employers to provide COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave and voluntary sick leave tax credits are set to expire Sept. 30; however, several cities and counties in California implemented their own supplemental paid leave ordinances that include small-employer obligations.

To combat the COVID-19 delta variant’s deadly toll in communities nationwide, President Joe Biden on Sept. 9 announced a COVID-19 action plan that mandates vaccination, with no testing option, for Medicare- and Medicaid-participating hospitals and other health care settings.

Conflicting views over mandatory vaccine policies could potentially lead to an employee quitting or getting fired and subsequently filing for unemployment. But whether an employee is still entitled to unemployment benefits if they quit or get fired for not complying with the public order varies on a case-by-case basis. 

CDA’s Employment Practices Analyst Michelle Corbo will present a C.E.-eligible webinar Aug. 23 that Corbo says will help dentist-employers “get their HR back on track.”

Dental-office staff in Los Angeles County and San Francisco will be required soon to show proof of vaccination to work in or enter those facilities following two new public health orders issued last week. 

The California public health order of July 26 requires all health care workers in the state to either show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 or be tested regularly. CDA is seeking guidance from the state on outstanding questions, particularly about how the weekly testing requirements for unvaccinated individuals must be implemented.

CDA has developed resources to help members comply with the California state order issued July 26 requiring health care workers either show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or submit to regular testing.