WASHINGTON (AP) – Just over a third of nursing home workers have received vaccines against COVID-19 when vaccines are first offered, U.S. health officials said Monday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did a national accounting of a problem that has been reported anecdotally: many nursing home workers do not receive the shots.
The CDC examined more than 11,000 nursing homes and specialty nursing centers that had at least one vaccination clinic between mid-December and mid-January. The researchers found that while 78% of residents received at least one shot, only 37.5% of staff members did.
Data previously showed that people working in residences and long-term care centers receive flu vaccines at lower rates than other health care workers. Surveys suggest that long-term care workers are skeptical and do not believe that viruses spread easily to the people they care for.
The issue was discussed last week during a meeting of a panel of experts advising the CDC on vaccine policy. At the meeting, CDC Dr. Amanda Cohn said more people get vaccinated when a second or third clinic is held at home.
“Continuing to capture those staff who did not accept the vaccine early will be really important, as we try to eliminate outbreaks and protect both staff and residents in long-term care centers,” Cohn said.
The government commissioned CVS and Walgreens to administer the shootings at long-term care homes in almost every state. Each vaccine requires two shots a few weeks apart and CVS and Walgreens claim to have closed first-dose clinics in residences. The chains plan three visits to each site.
The CDC released a second report on Monday that offered a broader national view of who has received the vaccine.
The CDC study found that of people who received at least one shot between mid-December and mid-January, 63% were women and 55% were 50 or older. It was also found that 60% were white, 11.5% Hispanic, 6% Asian, 5% black, 2% Native American / Alaska Native, and most others multiracial.
The report echoed previously published data from the states.
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