The Wellsville Daily Reporter
Hundreds of nursing homes across New York state that are struggling to vaccinate workers remain at heightened risk of COVID-19 outbreaks, despite recent declines in coronavirus infections.
About 250 nursing homes are lagging the state’s COVID-19 vaccination rate for long-term care workers, according to a USA TODAY Network analysis of state data. Overall, 62% of nursing home staff statewide have been at least partially vaccinated in New York.
While 85% of New York’s nursing home residents have been partially or fully vaccinated, the likelihood of future outbreaks is higher in facilities where fewer workers choose to get shots. It also increases the odds of breakthrough infections among vaccinated people, which are exceedingly rare.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, New York state moved many critically ill patients from hospitals back to nursing homes, contributing to as many as 15,000 deaths.
Nursing home chain ReNew Health continues to care for hundreds of patients even after the state attempted to crack down. Before and during the pandemic, homes connected to ReNew had safety violations.