COVID-19 cases plummeting among nursing home staffers, an ‘encouraging’ sign of the vaccines’ effectiveness
Updated Mar 16, 2021;
Posted Mar 16, 2021
The Reservoir nursing home registered nurse Sophia Walker gets the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in West Hartford, Conn., on Dec. 18, 2020. (Brad Horrigan/The Hartford Courant/TNS)TNS
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Joan Phillips, a certified nursing assistant in a Florida nursing home, loved her job but dreaded the danger of going to work in the pandemic. When vaccines became available in December, she jumped at the chance to get one.
Months later, it appears that danger has faded. After the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, the number of new COVID-19 cases among nursing home staff members fell 83% from 28,802 for the week ending Dec. 20 to 4,764 for the week ending Feb. 14, data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services shows.
Joan Phillips, a certified nursing assistant in a Florida nursing home, loved her job but dreaded the danger of going to work in the pandemic. When vaccines became available in December, she jumped at the chance to get one. Months later, it appears that danger has faded. After the rollout of Covid vaccines, the number of new Covid cases among nursing home staff fell 83% – from 28,802 for the week ending 20 December to 4,764 for the week ending.
Federal records show a steep decline in staff cases since December, when health care workers at thousands of nursing homes began getting their shots. Still, many are reluctant to get vaccinated.