Nursing homes: Where staff does not get vaccinatated, COVID-19 outbreaks reported

Where nursing home staff vaccinations lag, COVID-19 outbreaks may follow, experts warn Nationwide vaccination rates among nursing home staff are lagging, and experts are worried that's contributed to dozens of recent outbreaks in long-term care facilities. ABC News ABC News

When 28 residents in two Rochester, New York, nursing homes tested positive for COVID-19 last month, officials there saw the unexpected outbreak as a stark reminder of the potency of the coronavirus vaccine.

While much of the country was lining up for shots, by early May, fewer than 45% of the staff across Rochester Regional Health's skilled nursing facilities was fully vaccinated.

Dr. Robert Mayo, chief medical officer of Rochester Regional Health, which operates six senior living facilities in upstate New York, said the outbreaks showed not just the power of the vaccine, but also the risk of forgoing it.

"It's an important message that we need to keep sharing, that the vaccine is working, and it's working among the most vulnerable patients," said Mayo, who noted that none of the vaccinated residents had symptoms.

Although COVID-19 cases and deaths in nursing homes have decreased dramatically in the months since residents and staff were prioritized for vaccination, nationwide vaccination rates among nursing home staff are lagging -- and experts are concerned that's contributed to dozens of recent outbreaks in long-term care facilities.

After an unvaccinated health care worker at a Kentucky nursing home tested positive for the virus in March, 46 total cases were identified in the facility, including in 26 residents, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Three residents, one of whom was vaccinated, died of COVID-19, the CDC said. ...

Mayo said it can be difficult to precisely determine the source of an outbreak, and that "any visitor, any staff, any resident could potentially be the vector of infection." Nevertheless, in its report on the Kentucky outbreak, the CDC said that "low acceptance of vaccination among [staff] might increase the likelihood of SARS-CoV-2 introduction and transmission within a facility," and that vaccination among residents and staff is "critical to reduce the risk for SARS-CoV-2 introduction, transmission, and severe outcomes."

In Los Angeles County, where over 80% of nursing home staff and residents are fully vaccinated, only 11 residents and staff tested positive for COVID-19 during the week of May 15 -- a dramatic drop from the second and third weeks of December, when new cases among staff peaked at 2,300 and new cases among residents peaked at 1,338, the county health department said this week. Health officials attributed the drop to vaccination efforts among both residents and staff. ...

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