Weak vaccine coverage persists
As cases and deaths rose, vaccination rates didn’t budge. Nationally, just 31 percent of nursing home residents and 10 percent of staff were up to date on their COVID-19 vaccines as of Aug. 25, which represents no change since June. It does represent a large drop compared with this time last year, when 62 percent of residents and 25 percent of workers reported being up to date on vaccinations as of Aug. 20.
The current rates “are much too low to effectively prevent COVID-19 infections and deaths in nursing homes,” says AARP’s Houser, who authored a blog in June showing how nursing homes with higher vaccination rates have fared better during the pandemic. Having at least 50 percent of staff and 75 percent of residents up to date on vaccination — which many nursing homes achieved earlier in the pandemic — can significantly reduce the impact of COVID-19 on residents and save lives, Houser found.
But vaccination rates are far off that threshold, AARP’s analysis found. As of Aug. 25, South Dakota reported the highest up-to-date vaccination rate among residents in the county at 48 percent, while Tennessee reported the lowest at 18 percent. Among staff, Washington, D.C., reported the highest up-to-date vaccination rate at 45 percent, while West Virginia reported the lowest at 4 percent.
Vaccination is particularly important for nursing home residents, who tend to be more at risk of negative COVID-19 effects due to their older age and higher rates of chronic conditions. Living in a congregate setting, often in shared rooms, and getting hands-on care from staff daily increases the risk of COVID-19 spread, too.
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More than 188,000 nursing home residents have died from the virus since it first appeared in the U.S. These deaths account for roughly a sixth of the country’s entire COVID-19 death toll to date, even though nursing home residents make up less than 1 percent of the total population.
AARP is urging all nursing home residents and staff to get the updated COVID-19 vaccines this fall. We continue to support federal and state action to improve vaccine education and availability in these long-term care facilities.
See how your state performed in AARP’s latest Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard, and keep up with AARP’s nursing home coverage.
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