A new report The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that a large number of nursing home workers are not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
The CDC released nationwide figures on Monday that found major gaps in vaccination efforts between residents living in long-term care facilities and workers who care for them.
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The CDC report found that among 11,460 qualified nursing facilities that had at least one vaccination clinic between mid-December and mid-January, nearly 78 percent of residents received the vaccine, compared with about 38 percent of the nursing staff. nurses who accepted the jabs when they were offered.
“The lower percentage of vaccinated employees raises concerns about low coverage among a population at high risk of occupational exposure to SARS-CoV-2,” the report said.
“The program achieved moderately high coverage among residents; however, the continued development and implementation of focused communication and outreach strategies is needed to improve vaccination coverage among staff in SNFs. [skilled nursing facilities] and other long-term care settings, ”says the CDC report.
Residents and employees in long-term care facilities were prioritized to receive vaccines in the first phase of implantation, as these facilities were hard hit during the course of the pandemic. The federal government has partnered with the drugstore chains CVS and Walgreens for local vaccination in nursing homes in almost every state. The first dose clinics have already been closed, but the networks plan three visits to each site, as the vaccine requires two injections several weeks apart.
CDC officials said employees are more likely to apply for photos during the second or third visits.
The study referred to data from previous research that showed hesitation of the vaccine among healthcare professionals due to concerns about side effects and their effectiveness. An October survey showed that almost 40% of nurses said they were not confident that the COVID-19 vaccine would be safe and effective and only 34% said they received the vaccine voluntarily. More recent data from last month indicated that 28 percent of healthcare professionals had a “desire to postpone receiving the vaccine until they had more information on safety and efficacy”.
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