CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Vaccinations among nursing home residents exceed workers, data show

Norman Transcript - 9/24/2021

Sep. 24—In Cleveland County, the percentage of nursing home residents who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 far exceeds that of the people who care for them.

Of the eight Cleveland County nursing homes listed in data from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, all but one had a higher percentage of residents vaccinated against the virus than facility healthcare workers through Sept. 5. The seven homes with higher vaccination rates among residents averaged a 23.6% gap between the two groups.

Overall, the eight facilities averaged a 79% vaccination rate among residents and a 62.9% rate among healthcare workers, the data show.

Dr. Dale Bratzler, chief COVID officer at the University of Oklahoma, said this discrepancy is common throughout the country. One factor, he noted, was the concerted effort to vaccinate the elderly before anyone else when the COVID vaccine became available in late 2020.

He also said people in younger age groups — including healthcare workers at the facilities — tend to get vaccinated against COVID at lower rates than the elderly. Misinformation about the vaccine has played into the lower rates, Bratzler said.

Those factors, combined with industry challenges, explain the gap in vaccinations, he said.

"Finding staffing for a nursing home is very, very difficult, and they are very concerned that if they require vaccination, that they will lose staffing, that staffing will walk away," Bratzler said.

Bratzler said it's "sad" that healthcare workers taking care of those most vulnerable to the virus aren't "standing in line to get the vaccine."

But executives at the nursing homes say the lower rates of healthcare workers getting vaccinated is not for their lack of trying.

Stephanie Ward of Stonegate Senior Living in an emailed response to questions from The Transcript said the company has held town halls and provided collateral material from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and American Health Care Center.

Medical Park West, a Norman skilled nursing facility overseen by Stonegate, has 85.4% of its residents and 65.2% of its healthcare staff fully vaccinated.

"[The] majority of positives have been employees," Ward said. She noted Medical Park hasn't had any large outbreaks.

While Medical Park's vaccination rate for healthcare staff lags behind the rate for residents, it still far eclipses the county and state's fully vaccinated rate. As of Thursday afternoon, 46.29% of eligible Cleveland County residents were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to CDC data.

As of Tuesday, 46.63% of Oklahomans were fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

A spokesperson for Grace Skilled Nursing and Therapy argued that point in a statement response to questions from The Transcript. Grace's residents are 93% vaccinated, while healthcare workers are 64.2% vaccinated.

The statement pointed out that both rates also exceed the national average. Approximately 54.8% of the U.S. population had been vaccinated against COVID as of Wednesday, according to the CDC.

"In addition, safety protocols and practices are in place at all times aimed at preventing the spread of all infectious diseases, including COVID-19 for the health and safety of our residents and staff," the statement from Grace reads. "We remain committed to maintaining a safe environment for residents and staff, and are grateful for the support we have received from our residents, their families and the public as we continue our mission to care for our greatest generation with compassion and dignity."

Bratzler expects healthcare workers who haven't gotten vaccinated will do so following President Joe Biden'sSept. 9 announcement that the federal government will order the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to upgrade guidelines around the vaccine. All healthcare workers at facilities funded by Medicare and Medicaid will be required to get vaccinated under the new rules.

Bratzler said nursing homes in Oklahoma "are largely funded" through Medicaid.

"You're not going to be able to hop over to another healthcare facility to avoid the mandate, so I think this will almost become moot in the future," he said.

___

(c)2021 The Norman Transcript (Norman, Okla.)

Visit The Norman Transcript (Norman, Okla.) at www.normantranscript.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Nationwide News