Nursing home rollout on target

Residents in more than 100 facilities have completed their first round of virus vaccine

More than 100 nursing homes are on track to complete the first round of COVID-19 vaccinations by the end of the year, putting the state’s goal of completing the first round of vaccinations in all 213 facilities by the middle of January within reach.

The statewide vaccination campaign is particularly critical at the state’s long-term care facilities, which have been hit hard by the coronavirus. More than 3,400 nursing home residents have died through Dec. 22, according to state Department of Public Health data. If assisted living facilities are included, nearly 70% of the state’s COVID deaths are in long-term care facilities.

Providers interviewed this week said that the process has gone fairly smoothly and that they are hoping more staff will decide to get vaccinated whenCVSorWalgreens vaccinators return for the second and third rounds of the vaccine.

While the state has not released data on how many nursing home residents or staffers have received the vaccine already, several providers said more than 90% of the residents who have been offered the vaccine have gotten it.

The numbers are, however, not as high among staff as providers estimate somewhere closer to 50-60% of staffers have been vaccinated.

Matthew Barrett, the CEO of the Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities, said they haven’t done any formal surveys but that members of his association have said the vaccine rollout has gone smoothly and that they expect more staffers to get vaccinated.

“When they see the medical director and other staff getting vaccinated and they are fine I think that will ease some of the concerns among the staffs and they will get the vaccine during the next round,” Barrett said. “Overall what is going to win the day is facts and when they see there is no reason to be worried about taking the vaccine and that the people they care for and work with have taken it and are fine they will as well.”

Some providers said one of the issues is the timing of the vaccinations. All of them are scheduled for during the day, making