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Just over a third of nursing home workers received COVID-19 vaccines when the vaccines were first offered, U.S. health officials said on Monday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have done national accounts a problem reported anecdotally – many nursing home workers are not vaccinated.
The CDC examined more than 11,000 nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities 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 did.
Previous data has shown that people who work in nursing homes and long-term care facilities get their flu shots at lower rates than other healthcare workers. Polls suggest long-term care workers are skeptical about the effectiveness of vaccines 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 group that advises the CDC on vaccine policy. At the meeting, CDC’s Dr Amanda Cohn said more staff get vaccinated when a second or third clinic is held at home.
“It will be very important to continue to capture staff members who have not accepted the vaccine early, as we try to eliminate epidemics and protect staff and residents of long-term care facilities,” said Cohn.
The government has tasked CVS and Walgreens with administering vaccines to long-term care homes in almost all states. Each vaccine requires two injections within weeks of each other, and CVS and Walgreens say they have closed first-dose clinics in retirement homes. The chains plan three visits to each location.
CDC released second report Monday, which offered a broader national snapshot of who received the vaccine.
The CDC study found that among people who received at least one vaccine between mid-December and mid-January, 63% were women and 55% were 50 years or older. He also found that 60% were White, 11.5% Hispanic, 6% Asian, 5% Black, 2% Native American / Alaska Native, and most other multiracial.
The report echoed previously published data States.
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The Associated Press’s Department of Health and Science receives support from the Department of Science Education at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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