Covid cases in nursing homes rise as staff vaccination rates lag



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The number of patients and nursing home staff infected with Covid-19 rose sharply last week, according to federal data released Thursday, as the highly contagious delta variant threatens the country.

Cases among nursing home residents increased 38% – from 1,478 to 2,041 – between July 25 and August 1, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Florida long-term care facilities account for more than a quarter of cases with 564, up from 348 the previous week. The Sunshine State had the second highest rate of nursing home infections behind Alaska.

The number of nursing home residents nationwide who have died from Covid-19 rose from 163 to 281 last week.

The death toll and the number of cases are still far lower than they were at the height of the pandemic due to vaccines. But experts say the rising numbers, while not unexpected given the trajectory of the general population, underscore the dangers of the delta variant.

Some 82 percent of nursing home residents across the country are fully immunized, according to the CDC. The latest figures do not offer a breakdown of the number of infected patients who were fully vaccinated.

“What we have seen throughout the pandemic is that when we see an increase in cases in the community, we are going to see it seep into nursing homes,” said Dr Morgan Katz, assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “And this is largely due to the fact that only 60% of the staff are vaccinated and there is still a chance to enter the facility. “

Katz referred to studies that show residents of vaccinated nursing homes are more vulnerable to the disease than vaccinated members of the general public.

“This is why it is so important that we adhere to layers of precaution,” she said.

In Arkansas, the number of nursing homes with residents infected with Covid-19 quadrupled between July 12 and August 2, according to data from its state health department, from 10 to 42.

As NBC News has previously reported, nursing home advocates are increasingly concerned that unvaccinated staff are infecting residents of long-term care facilities.

Nationally, cases among nursing home staff jumped 31%, from 2,467 to 3,252 last week, according to CDC data. While the CDC collects weekly data on the number of employees vaccinated, the federal government has not mandated vaccines for nursing home staff.

The latest figures show that 58% of nursing home staff nationwide are fully immunized.

In Massachusetts, where less than 75% of nursing home staff are fully immunized, Governor Charlie Baker on Wednesday issued a statewide warrant that all nursing home staff be fully immunized. here Oct. 10.

David Grabowski, professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School, said he expects other states to follow Massachusetts’ lead.

“I think mandates are probably the right way to go,” he said.

But he warned that the mandates could lead to low-paid nursing workers quitting their jobs to find jobs elsewhere. “Any mandate should be associated with an effort to improve working conditions,” Grabowski said.

Mississippi state health official Dr Thomas Dobbs said in a briefing Thursday that the majority of cases in long-term care facilities involved employees, not residents. The state requires all staff to get vaccinated or tested twice a week.

A spokesperson for the Louisiana State Health Agency told NBC News the state is working closely with the state nursing home association to strongly encourage vaccinations among staff. .

In Arkansas, another hotspot, there is no requirement for vaccines.

“We don’t have one and are not considering one,” said Amy Webb, spokesperson for the state agency that oversees nursing homes.

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