Photo: Getty
Staff at long-term care facilities and nursing homes will be required to be fully vaccinated against thecoronavirus, the Biden administration announced Wednesday, as part of a plan to increase vaccination rates.
As a condition of participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, staff at nursing homes across the country will need to get the COVID-19 vaccine, PresidentJoe Bidentold reporters, setting a standard nationwide that’s meant to protect at-risk residents in the facilities.
The new regulation applies to about 15,000 facilities in the U.S. — about 1.6 million employees and their 1.3 million residents, according to apress release.
“If you visit, live or work at a nursing home, you should not be at a high risk of contracting COVID from unvaccinated employees,” said Biden, 78. “While I’m mindful that my authority at the federal government is limited, I’m going to continue to look for ways to keep people safe and increase vaccination rates.”
Carole Johnson, a senior official for the White House COVID-19 Response Team, toldCNN, “As we see thespread of Delta [variant]and the threat of COVID cases, it is really especially important that we ensure that those caring for our most vulnerable are vaccinated.”
A medical professional giving a vaccine shot.Getty
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure echoed in astatementthat “keeping nursing home residents and staff safe is our priority.”
The Biden administration also announced Wednesday that vaccinated Americans shouldreceive a COVID-19 booster shoteight months after being fully inoculated due to waning immunity, beginning Sept. 20.
Much like the initial vaccine rollout in December 2020, nursing home residents, health care workers and emergency workers are expected to receive the third booster shot first. Next up would be older recipients, then the general U.S. population. People are expected to receive a third shot of the same vaccine they originally got.
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source: people.com
