COVID-19 Information - as of 11/2/2022
Media Inquiries: mediainquiries@masonicare.org
Yale-New Haven Health COVID-19 Testing Site at Masonicare
The YNHH testing site at Masonicare in Wallingford is open for testing by appointment only. You can schedule an appointment through this link. You can download the testing FAQs here.
Please note: This is a testing site ONLY.
MASONICARE HEALTH CENTER VISITATION GUIDELINES - As of 5/13/2022
ALL MHC VISITORS
Please be aware that there are currently COVID positive cases in the building. Visitation is not being restricted at this time; however, upon arrival on the unit and prior to proceeding to your loved one's room, you must see a unit staff member. Please do not bypass the unit desk without having been informed of the guidelines being followed on that unit. Thank you.
Additional visitation policies:
- All visitors must enter through the main entrance of the Health Center
- Recommended visiting hours are 10:00AM - 8:00PM
- Only 2 visitors per resident are allowed at a time.
- All visitors must wear surgical masks at all times while in the building including when visiting with a loved one in their room.
- No pets allowed at this time.
PLEASE DO NOT VISIT IF YOU HAVE ANY SYMPTOMS AND PLEASE INFORM US IF YOU HAVE BEEN IN THE BUILDING AND HAVE THEN TESTED POSITIVE.
On behalf of the staff and residents of Masonicare Health Center, we appreciate your support as we work to keep our community safe.
10/13/22: UPDATE FROM JON-PAUL VENOIT, PRESIDENT & CEO:
"Why is Masonicare requiring another COVID booster?"
This is a question that I expect to hear more frequently as we get closer to the December 15 deadline for all eligible employees to receive the updated bivalent booster.
Since the very beginning of the pandemic in 2020, Masonicare’s strategy has been to follow the latest recommendations from the infectious disease experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and strictly adhere to guidance from the Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to protect all those we serve. That has not changed. Nor will it change.
The latest recommendations regarding the COVID-19 vaccines state that people can stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccination by completing a primary series and receiving the most recent booster dose as recommended for them by the CDC. Individuals can receive the bivalent booster two (2) months after their previous dose of the primary series or the monovalent booster. As we care for a population that is more vulnerable to the virus, we are following that recommendation and have made it policy. Again – this is consistent with the strategy we have been following all along.
COVID continues to mutate into new variants, and two of those, the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, are now responsible for more than half of all infections (54%) in Connecticut. The bivalent booster was created specifically to defend against these variants and reduce the risk of hospitalization and death. This is seen as the first step toward being able to treat COVID more like the flu: a booster dose that offers
protection against severe illness for most people during the most prevalent time of year. And the vaccines can be tweaked again if new variants become dominant in the future, which is how the flu shot works. Every fall, people get a new flu vaccine designed to protect against whatever strains of the virus are likely to be circulating that season. The hope is the COVID boosters will act the same way.
We all have COVID fatigue, vaccine fatigue, mask fatigue. But staying up-to-date with vaccination, masking, and other infection control measures are WORKING. They have saved hundreds of thousands of lives.
Masonicare will continue to do what is necessary to protect not only the clients, patients, and residents we serve, but our employees, vendors, and volunteers. By following recommended vaccination, we can move forward and do our part to contribute to community health.
BIVALENT BOOSTERS APPROVED FOR KIDS
Children ages 5 and up are now eligible to receive the bivalent COVID booster. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the boosters from Pfizer and Moderna Wednesday morning and the CDC approved the shots several hours later. The vaccines should soon become available at pharmacies and pediatricians’ offices. Read more at the CDC website.
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