WASHINGTON (AP) – Just over a third of nursing home workers received COVID-19 vaccines when the injections were first offered, US health officials said Monday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave a national report on a problem that has been anecdotally reported – many nursing home workers don’t get the photos.
The CDC looked at more than 11,000 nursing homes and capable nursing facilities that had at least one vaccination clinic between mid-December and mid-January. The researchers found that while 78% of the residents received at least one injection, only 37.5% of the staff did.
Previously, data showed that people who work in nursing homes and long-term care settings receive flu vaccines at lower rates than other health professionals. Surveys suggest that long-term care workers are skeptical of the shots and don’t think viruses spread easily from them to the people they care for.
The issue was discussed last week at a meeting of an expert panel advising the CDC on vaccine policy. At the meeting, Dr. Amanda Cohn of the CDC says that more staffers are vaccinated when a second or third clinic is held at a home.
“It will be very important to continue to catch those workers who have not accepted a vaccine early as we try to eliminate outbreaks and protect both staff and residents in long-term care facilities,” Cohn said.
The government has commissioned CVS and Walgreens to shoot the footage in long-term care homes in nearly every state. Each vaccine requires two injections a few weeks apart, and CFS and Walgreens say they’ve packed first-dose clinics into nursing homes. The chains plan three visits to each location.
The CDC released a second report on Monday that offered a larger national look at who got the vaccine.
The CDC study found that of the people who received at least one injection between mid-December and mid-January, 63% were female and 55% were 50 years or older. It also found that 60% were White, 11.5% Hispanic, 6% Asian, 5% Black, 2% American Indian / Alaskan Native, and most other multiracial.
The report reiterated previously released data from states.
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