AARP released the Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard, tracking nursing home data including cases, deaths, resident and staff vaccination rates. Although the new report shows a slight increase in healthcare staff vaccination rates, from 42 to 45 percent since last month’s report, Florida continues to rank second worst in the nation for vaccination of nursing home staff.
AARP Florida State Director Jeff Johnson said, “It is sadly no surprise that Florida has the most nursing homes with new COVID-19 cases among staff. We saw this coming when it became clear that Florida trailed the nation in vaccinations of healthcare workers. Unvaccinated staff members living in communities with rising coronavirus cases makes it inevitable that our nursing home residents will suffer.
“The delta variant of this virus is hitting Florida hard, and our most vulnerable residents are paying the price. This new AARP report highlights the urgent need for vaccination of nursing home workers who are caring for our loved ones daily. It’s astounding that since April 2021, Florida’s vaccination rate of nursing home staff has been almost stagnant and is still far below the industry standard of 75 percent and the national average of 60.4 percent."
In the four weeks ending July 18, 2021, the percent of Florida nursing homes reporting new staff cases of COVID-19 increased from 26 percent to 40.3 percent, the highest in the nation. The percent of new resident cases increased during the same time period, from 11 percent to 12.6 percent, more than twice the national average of 4.4 percent. Approximately 18 percent of Florida’s nursing homes continue to suffer from staffing shortages, slightly lower than the previous month’s report.
