now authorized to vaccinate patients for COVID-19, regardless of state laws that prevent them from doing so. We’ve had members inquiring what this means for Missouri dentists. See column at right for a press-time update, and be assured we’ll continue to communicate as ef- forts progress.


COVID-19 Liability: Senate Bill 51 (Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, R-Parkville) was perfected in the Senate after a 15-hour filibuster in February. After enough Senators were back following various absences, the upper chamber third- read and passed the bill but failed to include an emergency clause, 19-15. This means if passed, the bill will not go into effect until August 28, 2021 instead of upon signing. The bill was heard in the House Special Committee on Litigation Reform last Tuesday, and we expect it to be voted out of the committee after spring break.


Appropriations: We are working to allow greater dental services for adults on Medicaid and fund the Donated Dental Services (DDS) program. The Governor has recommended $200,000 for Elks Mobile Dental and $90,000 for DDS in his budget. These recommendations are in the process of being reviewed by the House budget committees. In early March, the Governor released the rest of the withholds from the Fiscal Year 2021 budget, including $90,000 for DDS.


In the coming weeks, look for more debate on the fiscal year 2022 budget, Medicaid expansion, election and initia- tive petition reforms, education reform and more. Be sure to keep up with the MDA legislative agenda by reading the Capitol Connection each week. If you miss an issue or aren’t subscribed, you can access it at modental.org/ capconnect or on the MDA App under the Advocacy button. Please contact me with any specific questions, as we con- tinue to work to meet our goals before the gavel drops in May. f


Contact Olivia at olivia@ molobby.com.


Missouri Dentists Ability to Administer COVID-19 Vaccine O


n March 11, President Biden announced¹ additional healthcare providers—including den- tists—will be able to administer the COVID-19 vaccine. There are provisions within the


federal rules the State will have to address for this to occur in Missouri. Dr. Guy Deyton, State Dental Director in the Office of Dental Health, along with the Missouri Dental Board and the Department of Health and Senior Services will be assessing the needs and next steps.


Federal rules² outline the additional healthcare providers who can give the COVID-19 vac- cine (including dentists) and identified licensure and training requirements (and also addresses dental student requirements). Specifically, the healthcare professional must have completed the CDC COVID-19 vaccine training modules and, if applicable, any additional training required by state, tribe, locality, etc. for prescribing, dispensing and administering COVID-19 vaccines. To administer vaccines, a dentist also must observe a currently practicing healthcare provider giving intramuscular injections within their current scope of practice and have basic CPR train- ing (which already is required for licensure). Though these federal requirements are indicated, the Missouri Dental Practice Act does not have statute or rules to identify any specific require- ments; however, there will be requirements for complying with the Missouri ShowMeVax system (such as registration for and storage of vaccines, specific to each brand).


The MDA is communicating with the previous mentioned State entities to understand what will be required for Missouri dentists to administer vaccines under this federal announcement. We will continue to share information with members through eNews updates and other media. The ADA has several vaccine-related resources on at ADA.org/Virus, including a recently released Member Toolkit, Talking with Patients About COVID-19 Vaccines.


REFERENCES: 1) ADA News, “Dentists, dental students among providers now authorized to administer COVID-19 vaccine nationwide” bit.ly/3bMndBQ and 2) Federal Register, federalregister.gov/d/2021-05401.


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ISSUE 2 | MAR/APR 2021 | focus 15


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