New York’s coronavirus-affected nursing homes remain “extremely vulnerable” to deadly disease, more than nine months after the pandemic, according to a report Thursday.
Between Oct. 25 and Nov. 29, residents of nursing homes accounted for a quarter of COVID-19 deaths statewide, though they accounted for less than half of the 1% of the population, as found by the Empire Center for Public Policy.
“They seem to be more vulnerable than ever,” said Bill Hammond, a senior member of the independent think tank’s health policy.
During that five-week period, there were 268 coronavirus deaths at the facility, according to federal data reviewed by Hammond. This number represents 26 percent of all fatalities reported by the state Department of Health during this time period.
New York State nursing homes were much worse than those at the Big Apple, which accounted for 18 of the deaths, according to the data.
For example, Southern Tier states, which includes Binghamton, Corning and Elmira, recorded 84 fatalities from COVID-19 in recent weeks, accounting for 71% of the region’s number.
Disturbing details come despite the state implementing strict restrictions on nursing homes, such as a limited visit and weekly tests for staff, following the spring wave of infections.
Hammond said he had believed “that nursing homes were better protected than ever,” but after finishing the analysis he found that “it doesn’t look like that.”
“I think it’s extremely difficult to protect residents of nursing homes from this virus because they’re very vulnerable,” he told The Post.
“Even though they themselves are separated from the rest of the world, they maintain intimate and frequent contact with staff … and these people are out of the world to some extent and are inevitably exposed to the virus.”
While the rate of coronavirus fatalities in the state, both inside and outside residences, is lower in April and May, Hammond said the worrying trend needs to be addressed.
“I am baffled that this issue, this trend has not been addressed by the governor or his people in the daily briefings,” he said.
“It’s a huge percentage of deaths, especially in the northern part of the state, in nursing homes and we were aware they were taking a lot of special care and protection.”
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been facing criticism for months for policy guidelines issued by his Department of Health in the early days of the pandemic to fuel outbreaks in affected nursing homes.
A March 25 directive that was subsequently rescinded required nursing homes to accept the recovery of COVID-19 patients from hospitals, a controversial policy the governor claimed followed federal guidelines.
The Cuomo administration has publicly reported approximately 6,500 deaths from COVID-19 in long-term care centers statewide since March, but has refused to say how many died after being taken to hospitals to receive emergency care.
Lawmakers and the Empire Center have filed laws on freedom of information and have sued the state for refusing to disclose those figures. This process is pending.
Critics of Cuomo and health care experts have fired the governor and his state health commissioner, Dr. Howard Zucker, over the publication of the directive, which required nursing homes to allow residents with COVID to return to their homes. hospitals if they did not need intensive care.
They argue that the mandate helped feed outbreaks in long-term care centers, which house elderly and sick people, some of the most vulnerable to deadly disease.
And an analysis of the Associated Press data indicates that the count provided by the state of total deaths in nursing homes may be totally underreported. Some 323 nursing home residents died between early June and mid-July, according to federal PA data review, 65 percent more than the 195 deaths counted by the state in that same period.
If this rate is indicative of reporting disparities over the duration of the pandemic, it could account for thousands of additional coronavirus-related deaths in residences.
The state DOH released an internal report in July that said the virus was spreading through the facility primarily by personnel.
But the self-assessment, which sought to vindicate the department’s highly criticized policies, was criticized by experts who said it was full of holes.
“It simply came to our notice then. We know that these facilities are more vulnerable to COVID and Governor Cuomo and his administration still do not know how to protect them. Whether or not he cares, he is unable to govern, or both. It’s time for us to consider withdrawing their powers, ”Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Queens), a frequent critic of the state’s nursing home policies, said Thursday.
But DOH spokesman Gary Holmes defended his boss’s decisions, saying the “right-wing political machine” “ignores science, data and facts,” although the figures are reported to the federations. for New York nursing homes.
“What we’ve said from the beginning is happening in all 50 states: when this virus enters a community, it also enters nursing homes, usually through asymptomatic staff or visitors.”
He added: “New York continues to do everything possible to protect residents and nursing home staff, including a restriction on visiting the red and orange areas, returning to testing twice a week at all microcumulus zones and, in the coming days, a comprehensive program that has residents and nursing home staff among New Yorkers in the front row to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. “