Nearly four years into the pandemic, vaccination rates for COVID-19, RSV, and even influenza among nursing home residents and staff remain very low, according to recent CDC MMWR data. remains low. In the first two weeks of January alone, about 600 nursing home residents died from the coronavirus. Meanwhile, influenza numbers remain high in parts of the United States, and the risk of respiratory syncytial virus remains elevated among this vulnerable population.
Despite widespread availability of both COVID-19 boosters and new adult respiratory syncytial virus vaccines, infection, hospitalization, and mortality rates continue to rise through the winter. Ta. Moreover, the rate of COVID-19 booster uptake among nursing home staff was just 23% at the end of 2023, according to CDC data. Why aren’t more nursing home residents getting the vaccine? And what can nursing homes and states do to ensure residents and staff are protected?
Liz Siegert, AHCJ Health Beat Leader on Aging, talks about what the data is telling us, the challenges of ensuring staff and residents receive the vaccinations they need, and overcoming persistent misinformation. Speak with geriatric physicians/researchers and executive directors of organizations that advocate for older adults. About the impact of the coronavirus vaccine, her RSV vaccine, and new federal staffing mandates on infection control and prevention.
March 5th
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Liz Segart He is the leader of AHCJ’s Aging Health Beat. She is an award-winning independent health journalist based in New York’s Hudson Valley who writes about long-term care, dementia, access to care, nursing homes, and policy. Seegert is also a contributor to Fortune.com, American Journal of Nursing, and PBS/NextAvenue.org, where she reports on a myriad of health topics, including social determinants of health and women’s health. She has written for TIME Health, The Wirecutter, Money.com, Medscape, Consumer Reports, The Guardian, Medical Economy, and numerous other trade and mainstream media outlets. Her articles have been syndicated on Forbes.com, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Saturday Evening, Her Post, and other major outlets.
Richard Mollot She is also the Executive Director of the Long Term Care Community Coalition (LTCCC). LTCCC is a nonpartisan, U.S.-based nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the care of individuals in nursing homes and other residential care settings through legal and policy research, advocacy, and education. . Richard has researched and published on a variety of long-term care issues including: Standards for nursing homes and assisted living. The right of older people to residential care. Abuse, neglect, and crime in nursing homes. Nursing home financing. and the imposition and application of penalties for substandard residential care. He is a graduate of Howard University School of Law and a member of the Maryland State Bar.
Ana Montoya, MD, MPHis a geriatrician and health care researcher at the University of Michigan and a clinical associate professor at the UM School of Medicine. Her research focuses on improving aging by examining health system performance for this vulnerable population, with particular interest in health disparities, delirium, dementia, chronic medical problem management, and infectious disease control in skilled nursing facilities. focused on improving patient care. She received her medical degree from Universidad Nacional de San Marcos in Peru and a master’s degree in public health from the University of Michigan, where she also completed a geriatrics fellowship. She is currently enrolled in the Master of Medicine and Healthcare Research Program at the U-M Institute for Health Policy and Innovation. She serves as the medical director of UM’s subacute and long-term care programs. The program is a partnership between the UM Geriatric Center and local facilities that provide rehabilitation and skilled nursing care. She is board certified in internal medicine, geriatrics, and hospice palliative medicine, and is certified as a medical director by the American Board of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.
