COVID-19 deaths at US nursing homes jumped 43% this summer versus summer 2023 as vaccination rates among nursing home residents and staff continued to lag.
Resident deaths from the virus increased fivefold between May and August of this year, climbing from roughly 100 in the month ending May 26 to about 500 for the month ending Aug. 25, according to an AARP report. That compares to about 350 deaths for a similar period last August.
One out of every 28 nursing home residents tested positive for COVID from July 29 to Aug. 25, and resident and staff cases increased sevenfold for that period compared to the four-week period which ended May 26. By comparison, last year, just one in 47 residents tested positive for the virus from July 24 and Aug. 20.
AARP officials blamed the summer surge in part on lagging vaccinations among nursing home residents and staff.
Only 31% of nursing home residents were up-to-date with their COVID-19 vaccinations during the months of June through August, and that percentage dropped slightly to 29% the week of September 15, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Meanwhile, only about 10% of nursing home staff were up-to-date with their vaccinations during the summer months, the CDC reports.
“It is critically important that nursing home residents and staff get vaccinated during the fall to achieve maximum protection for both themselves and all residents living in the facility,” Ari Houser, a senior methods adviser for AARP and coauthor of the analysis said. “[Winter] has had the highest rate of deaths, cases and other COVID-19 impacts during each year of the pandemic.”
Houser said that current nursing home vaccination rates “are much too low to effectively prevent COVID-19 infections and deaths in nursing homes.” He added that having at least 50% of staff and 75% of residents up to date on vaccination, which many facilities achieved during the pandemic, can significantly reduce the impact of COVID on residents and save lives.
Nursing home advocacy groups also are calling for increased COVID vaccinations in nursing homes amid the recent surge in COVID cases and growing public reluctance over vaccinations.
Organizations such as the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living and LeadngAge have launched public awareness campaigns to increase vaccinations among residents in nursing homes and other care settings, but they’ve also asked for more help from federal officials to better coordinate access.
