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Objective: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic has impacted nursing home care and activities in profound ways. We sought to understand whether the COVID‐19 pandemic had any impact on hospital admissions of nursing home residents. Methods: A retrospective analysis of hospital admissions of nursing home residents to a tertiary general hospital in Singapore during the COVID‐19 pandemic in 2020 was conducted and compared to admissions in the preceding year. Patients' demographics, length of stay, primary diagnosis on admission, death and causes of death were recorded. Results: Our study found reduced number of hospital admissions of nursing home residents to a tertiary hospital in Singapore. There was a significant decrease in pneumonia (p < 0.001) and fall (p = 0.001) as a primary diagnosis on admission and a decrease in pneumonia as the cause of death (p < 0.001) for nursing home residents admitted to hospital during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Conclusions: This suggests that measures implemented during the pandemic may have impacted outcomes of nursing home residents. Further study is warranted to lead to practise changing outcomes for nursing home settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving high vaccination rates is key to containing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study evaluated the factors associated with uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine. Six hundred and seventy-six respondents were surveyed online between May and June 2021. Data on demographics, perception of the COVID-19 pandemic, and vaccine willingness and hesitancy factors were collected. Approximately 54.6% of the respondents had received the COVID-19 vaccination. Age (p = 0.001), males (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.1–2.6, p = 0.026), ethnicity (p = 0.004), occupation (p = 0.003)), working in healthcare (OR 6.1, 95% CI 2.8–13.2, p < 0.001), smoking (OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.3–8.8, p = 0.014), seeing vaccination as a social responsibility (OR 3.8, 95% CI 1.2–12.0, p = 0.022) and believing the vaccine is important to end the COVID-19 pandemic (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.1–6.1, p = 0.020) were associated with greater vaccination uptake. Social responsibility and well-being of collective society are important values associated with vaccine uptake in an Asian society. Understanding factors behind vaccine uptake can help advise public health measures and strategies to achieve high levels of vaccination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common in older adults. CHA2DS2-VASC (congestive heart failure, hypertension, age ≥75 (doubled), diabetes mellitus, prior stroke or transient ischemic attack (doubled), vascular disease, age 65–74, female) and HASBLED(Hypertension, Abnormal Renal/Liver Function, Stroke, Bleeding History or Predisposition, Labile INR, Elderly, Drugs/Alcohol Concomitantly) are the most established risk stratification tools in assessing suitability for anticoagulation in AF. However, there are no established screening tools for geriatric syndromes on anticoagulation risks in older adults. This study examined the association of anticoagulation prescription with geriatric syndromes. Older adults 65 years and above admitted to a tertiary hospital with atrial fibrillation and CHA2DS2-VASC score ≥ 2. Data on demographics, function (modified Barthel's Index (MBI)), cognition (mini-cog), frailty (Edmonton Frail Scale (EFS) and FRAIL), geriatric syndromes (EFS), sarcopenia (SARC-F), HASBLED and CHA2DS2-VASC were collected. 150 patients aged 65 and above (mean age 79.4 ± 7.1 years) with AF were recruited. 101 (67%) participants were anticoagulated, in univariate analysis comparing those who were anticoagulated with those who were not, age (OR 0.94; 95% CI 0.89−0.99), chronic kidney disease (OR 0.39; 95% CI 0.19−0.80), frailty (OR 0.77; 95% CI 0.60−0.98) and functional status by Barthel's Index (OR 0.75; 95% CI 0.57−0.97) were significantly associated with anticoagulation prescription. In multivariate analysis, age (OR 0.93; 95% CI 0.88−0.99) and CKD (OR 0.35; 95% CI 0.16−0.76) remained significant. There was no significant difference in CHA2DS2-VASC, HASBLED, MBI or falls between the groups. Age and CKD were significantly associated with anticoagulation prescription in patients with AF. Further studies on the impact of geriatric syndromes on anticoagulation prescription and outcomes in older adults are needed with specific guidelines for patients with geriatric syndromes and AF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A commentary is presented that explores strategies to limit the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 in long-term care facilities (LTCFs). Topics discussed include the status of LTCFs in Singapore and the importance of COVID vaccination and COVID vaccination rates. New strategies for dealing with the infection are also offered.