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According to federal data, vaccination rates for the recent peak booster bivalent among Maine nursing home staff lag behind the citizens they care for and the general population, as the state reports its third pandemic winter.
The vast disparity exists despite efforts by state and federal fitness officials to inspire nursing home caregivers to get the latest booster shot.
According to the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the U. S. , only 18% of nursing home staff have the updated vaccine. That’s less than the national average of 22% of staff, and well below the rate among residents. The CDC defines being current-current on COVID-19 vaccines as having the vaccine up to date.
Maine is one of the states with the most vaccines in the country with 83 percent of eligible people receiving their first vaccine, according to the CDC. But only 27 percent gained the updated bivalent booster, which launched this fall and is designed to protect opposite the omicron variant.
Figures show that 63% of citizens over the age of 65 have gained a booster vaccine. Nursing home citizens have a recovery figure of 51. 6%, according to CDC data from Dec. 18, the highest recent totals available.
Long-term care stakeholders say the lack of a federal requirement makes it difficult to raise rates, but such a move may create more staffing problems in an industry that is already under-resourced. While no vaccine promises complete coverage opposite the virus, a December CDC study found that the latest booster prevented hospitalizations 83 percent of the time in others over 65. And nursing home residents are among the most vulnerable to the disease because of their age and have coexisting health risks.
Federal data shows Maine cases rose after the Thanksgiving holiday and rose through December, from 847 weekly cases on Nov. 30 to 1178 weekly cases on Dec. 21. the holiday season or due to inclement weather, such as the two storms that hit Maine in the days leading up to Christmas. The number of reported cases rose in the first week of January to 1,091.
Hospitalizations have risen nationally, but unevenly in Maine: After the seven-day average saw a slight increase in the last week of December, it fell 23% last week.
The state and federal governments are rushing to raise rates through targeted campaigns and clinics. But while Maine and the CDC require nursing home staff to get the initial two-shot regimen, there has been no requirement for follow-up injections. Such action would likely be if rates improve, said Jabbar Fazeli, medical director of Durgin Pines in Kittery.
“(The staff) getting vaccinated is the first line of defense, the residents’ vaccinations,” he said.
Durgin Pines has the second-highest percentage of dual in the state, according to the CDC, and on Dec. 18 it emerged that 68. 9% and 94% of citizens are up to date. Fazeli said the figure is likely closer to 72 percent. now.
Home control may not require enhanced vaccinations without a federal order, Fazeli said, but they created other levels of private protective equipment requirements for staff. For example, unvaccinated personnel will be required to wear N95 masks.
This strategy encouraged some staff members, but Fazeli said the space also attracted staff who asked them about the fitness of its residents, who are elderly and at higher risk of becoming seriously ill from the virus. Many of them are contract workers who have no needs. of their agencies to be stimulated, which, according to Fazeli, provides Durgin Pines with even less influence, as they are the most requested due to persistent staff shortages in the industry.
This shortage was a major discussion in 2021 when Gov. Janet Mills required physical care personnel to be vaccinated, making Maine one of the first states to do so. from the beginning through the resistance of some conservative politicians and staff. A lawsuit that reached the U. S. Supreme Court. UU. se dismissed last year.
The focus on physical care staff was due in part to the high-demand situations facing the industry as staff illnesses extended the ability to provide care. Workers come into contact with vulnerable populations due to the nature of their jobs, in particular long-term care. Amenities have been the site of some of the first and maximum severe outbreaks of COVID-19 due to the speed with which the virus spread among residents.
A federal requirement would prevent families from having to compete for a small group of staff who don’t need to be vaccinated, Fazeli said.
“It’s hard to make it a state challenge when the federal government doesn’t have guidelines,” he said.
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services does not require boosters, but it does require families to present their vaccination levels and residents, and to monitor them closely. On Thursday, CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said the company would offer more resources such as on-site clinics for homes with lower fees, according to McKnights, a news site that covers the long-term care industry.
“We know many of you have worked to increase uptake of new vaccines,” Brooks-LaSure told nursing home workers. “Rates have been rising, but that number is still too low. “
There’s a similar philosophy in the state Department of Health and Human Services’ Power of Care campaign, which encourages caregivers of the elderly or disabled to get flu and booster shots. It features testimonials from industry staff and links to vaccination sites.
The crusade was created in collaboration with the state’s long-term care ombudsman, DHHS spokeswoman Jackie Farwell said. He noted that Maine is doing well in meeting existing federal immunization needs for nursing home staff. At 97. 7%, only New York and Rhode Island have higher staff vaccination rates.
These rates can vary greatly from home to home. At least 35 families reported that less than 10 percent of them had gained the new booster, according to CMS data.
Some, like MaineGeneral’s Grey Birch Rehabilitation Center, have 100% of staff vaccinated, but only 40% are up to date on the newest booster. Become stronger.
Maine Veterans Homes, which is not affiliated with the Veterans Administration but provides urgent care to veterans, has noticed recovery rates of up to 57% in South Paris and 20% at its Caribou facility. A spokesperson showed those rates but they did not respond to a follow-up inquiry about the withdrawals.
Angela Westhoff, president of the Maine Health Care Association in the lobby of a nursing home, said the organization is participating in a crusade to raise rates for residents. Be given every year, like the flu shot, or more often.
Others are simply tired of discussions about vaccines and the pandemic in general, he said. Westhoff encouraged more education about the importance of keeping up with vaccines, but doubted a mandate could help. COVID-19, attitudes across the country are different and providers have more resources to fight the virus, he said.
Plus, the danger of wasting more staff in an industry that already has few resources, Westhoff said. The Maine Health Care Association estimated in 2022 that 10% of long-term care staff had left since the pandemic began.
“To do something else at this point that discourages other people from working, especially in our field, would be problematic,” he said.
This story was originally published through The Maine Monitor. The Maine Monitor is a local journalistic product published through the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, a nonprofit, nonpartisan civic news organization.
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