Most nursing home residents have yet to be vaccinated against the coronavirus

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only about 14% of the estimated 2.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine distributed to residents and nursing home staff have been administered.

Why is this important: The slower-than-ideal rollout illustrates the complexity of vaccinating what is expected to be one of the easiest populations to reach – and who remain extremely vulnerable to the virus.

The state of play: The federal government has partnered with CVS and Walgreens to deliver vaccines to the vast majority of long-term care facilities.

• CVS – which plans to immunize up to 4 million residents and staff at more than 40,000 facilities – began administering vaccines in 12 states the week of December 21 and 36 other states plus Washington, DC last week.
• A CVS spokesperson said the rollout is going largely as planned: “We have not encountered any delays except for some difficulties in getting confirmation from facilities on clinic dates and requests. avoid vaccinating during or around the holidays. “
• And some states have started vaccinations at a specific subset of long-term care facilities, the spokesperson added.

The other side: West Virginia has pulled out of the federal program, and Governor Jim Justice said last week that every long-term care facility in the state now has doses on hand.

• “West Virginia is a smaller state, but it still shows delays with the federal model when they complete the first round and many long-term care facilities in other states haven’t even been offered yet. vaccination, “said David Grabowski, professor of health policy at Harvard.

Between the lines: Reluctance to immunize is a problem, especially among staff.

• Last week, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (right) said about 60% of state nursing home staff who were offered the vaccine turned it down, while 85% of nursing home residents chose it.
• Obtain consent from residents “also slowed things down,” Grabowski said.

The bottom line: Every day that nursing home residents are not vaccinated is another day when they are at risk of catching the virus that is prolifically circulating in the country.