HARRISBURG, Pa. — Nursing home staff are the source of severe COVID-19 infections in long-term care facilities, according to a recent study published by the New England Journal of Medicine. The study found hundreds of nursing home deaths could have been prevented had more staff been vaccinated.
FOX43 Reveals combed through data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) and looked into the numbers at hundreds of nursing homes in South Central Pa. We found nursing homes with the lowest staff vaccination rates had twice as many resident deaths due to COVID-19 and more than four times the number of coronavirus cases compared to nursing homes with the highest staff vaccination rates.
Pleasant Acres Rehabilitation and Nursing Center has the lowest staff vaccination rate in York County. According to DOH data, 37 percent of staff are fully vaccinated and 88 percent of residents are fully vaccinated. The facility has had the most COVID-19 deaths and cases among residents in the county. As of last month, the facility has reported 50 resident COVID-19 deaths and 305 resident COVID-19 cases.
The disparities are consistent despite high vaccination rates among nursing home residents. Nearly all residents are fully vaccinated at the Lancaster Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Lancaster County. However, the facility has had 225 resident cases of COVID-19 and 34 deaths. Less than 60 percent of staff are fully vaccinated.
There are 95 occupied beds, on average, at the Courtyard Gardens Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Middletown, Dauphin County. However, the facility has reported 93 resident deaths due to COVID-19. There have been 259 total cases between residents and staff. Less than 60 percent of staff are fully vaccinated and none are partially vaccinated.
Federal data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services show Pennsylvania has the highest number of COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents nationwide. The DOH reports 15,244 COVID-19 deaths have occurred in long-term care facilities.
The Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate would require all health care workers, including nursing home staff, to be fully vaccinated by January 4. The mandate is currently tied up in the courts.
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