Pa. must complete vaccinating its most vulnerable citizens
When is Pennsylvania going to complete vaccinating its most vulnerable citizens — nursing home residents?
The better question might be: When will many of our nursing homes even receive a date for vaccinations to begin? Some are hearing that it’s not until February
hese are legitimate questions, because nursing homes are being kept in the dark, despite our residents being the most at risk — something everyone has known since the first days of the pandemic.
While many Pennsylvanians have focused only on the latest COVID-19 surge that has led to scaled-back holiday celebrations and separation from our loved ones, the pandemic never left our nursing homes. For eight months, the risk of COVID-19 has been constant, especially here in Lancaster County.
The facts are inescapable: In Lancaster County and statewide, nursing home residents account for over half of all COVID-19 deaths. This is a tragedy. Nursing home staff are fighting valiantly, but the combination of age, weakened immune systems and comorbidities of our residents has made the fight seem almost impossible at times.
Through all of this, and all of the months of struggle, we still have not seen a clear plan from the Wolf administration on how the newly approved vaccines will be distributed to nursing homes.
Meanwhile, we see continued media coverage of vaccines being delivered to hospitals all across Pennsylvania. That’s great. We certainly support this, but why doesn’t anyone seem to care that the Pennsylvanians with the greatest risk, number of cases and deaths — our cherished residents of nursing homes — have only begun to receive vaccines?
I believe vaccinating nursing home residents will immediately help Pennsylvania’s COVID- 19 fatality rate drop dramatically. The ultimate goal here is to save lives. So why are we being forgotten? Why are our residents an afterthought?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognized this and clearly stated that nursing home residents were most at risk and should be among the first group vaccinated.
Government leaders in Ohio took the CDC recommendation to heart and prioritized the protection of nursing home residents first. Yet, here in Lancaster County, at the very same time, our nursing homes seemingly aren’t a priority.
Let’s do some math: In Lancaster County, there were 132 deaths from COVID-19 in just the first 20 days of December and, based on the historical percentages, it is likely that more than half were from nursing homes and that number likely will be revised upward.
Analyzing the math, the Wolf administration’s decision to vaccinate hospital workers first — and delaying the vaccine to nursing homes in Lancaster County — could lead to 50 more deaths in just our county alone.
Now, think of how high the number of deaths will be statewide.
Who is making these life-ordeath policy decisions for the Wolf administration?
I believe the risk for hospital workers is infinitesimal by comparison. The numbers tell us this. It’s remarkable how often we’re told by our state government to follow the science and CDC guidelines, while the state government itself is ignoring the recommendation that could literally save hundreds, if not thousands, of Pennsylvania lives.
Many nursing homes in Lancaster County have not even received a date to begin the vaccinations. Many may not receive the vaccine until four to six weeks after it was provided to hospital staff. Other vulnerable older adults in the community may have to wait weeks or even months longer. This is an avoidable tragedy.
Are not all the closures and restrictions about saving lives? How many lives could we save in Pennsylvania if the most vulnerable were vaccinated first?