Data shows just 38 percent of nursing home workers have accepted COVID-19 vaccines

A nurse prepares a COVID-19 vaccine in Massachusetts.
(Image credit: Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)

So far, only 38 percent of staffers at nursing homes have accepted COVID-19 vaccines when offered, according to new data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday.

Due to their vulnerability, nursing home residents and health care workers have been among the first people to receive the vaccine, and "these findings show we have a lot of work to do to increase confidence and also really understand the barriers to vaccination amongst the population," Dr. Radhika Gharpure, lead author of the CDC report, told USA Today.

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Earlier polling data showed that some nursing home employees said they were concerned about side effects, while others did not want to be among the first group to get vaccinated. Several facilities have been working to educate workers about the vaccine. At Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, nearly two-thirds of employees said late last year they did not want to get the vaccine, but infectious disease expert Dr. William Schaffner told USA Today there was a push to share facts with staffers, and that "moved the needle." Now, 75 percent have said they will get the vaccine.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.