COVID-19 vaccine uptake moderately high for residents at skilled nursing facilities

Moderately high COVID-19 vaccine coverage was achieved for residents at skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) during the first month of a program to facilitate on-site vaccination of residents and staff members, according to research published in the Feb. 1 early-release issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Radhika Gharpure, D.V.M., from the CDC COVID-19 Response Team, and colleagues examined early receipt of vaccine during the first months of the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program to facilitate on-site vaccination of residents and staff members at enrolled long-term care facilities (LTCFs).

The researchers found that an estimated median of 77.8 percent of residents and 37.5 percent of staff members per facility received one or more dose of COVID-19 vaccine among 11,460 SNFs with at least one vaccination clinic during the first month of the program (Dec. 18, 2020, to Jan. 17, 2021).

"Communications resources developed to increase vaccine confidence among LTCF staff members can be employed for public health outreach, and strategies to address structural barriers, such as scheduling around shift work or provision of paid medical leave for possible postvaccination side effects, should be encouraged," the authors write.

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