Nursing homes' staff lax on vax
NY facilities’ worker jab rates trail residents’
An alarming number of employees at New York nursing homes still haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19 — with more than 60 percent at some facilities in the city refusing to get the jab, state data show.
The vaccination rates among workers drastically trail those of vulnerable residents at the same facilities, sparking out rage from advocates who warn it could impede their ability to visit loved ones in the homes.
“If staffers choose not to get the vaccine, they should find another line of work,” said Vivian Zayas, founder of Voices For Seniors, whose mom, Ana Martinez, died after contracting COVID-19 at a Long Island nursing home last year. “If they want to work in a nursing home, they should get the vaccine.”
As of Sunday, only 58 percent of staffers in the 611 nursing homes statewide had been partially or fully vaccinated — vastly lower than the 84 percent of nursing home residents, according to state Health Department data reviewed by The Post.
In New York City’s 167 nursing homes, just 57 percent of staffers had gotten their shots, compared to 78 percent of residents.
The borough with the most dismal vaccination rate among nursing home staffers was Brooklyn, where only 47 percent we reinoculated, well below the 71 percent of residents.
At 20 city facilities, a shockingly low number of staffers — 60 percent or more — had yet to be vaccinated, The Post review found.
At Linden Center nursing home in Brooklyn, only 25.5 percent of staffers have been vaccinated, compared to 54.5 percent of residents.
Linden Center general counsel Richard Brum said, “We have been actively encouraging all staff and residents to get vaccinated.”
At the 305-bed Sea Crest Nursing and Rehab Center in Brooklyn, just 29.2 percent of staffers and 29.3 percent of residents have received shots, data show. The facility did not respond to a request for comment.
Just 28 percent of staffers were vaccinated at the 90-bed Highbridge Woody crest Center—a third of the 74 percent of residents inoculated. The nursing home declined to comment.
Only 28.5 percent of workers were vaccinated at the Riverdale Nursing Home in The Bronx, less than half the 65.2 percent of residents. A rep who answered the phone said, “We don’t speak to the media.”
Last month, the DOH issued new guidance requiring nursing homes to offer all residents and staffers the vaccine, and those who decline must sign an opt-out statement. Nursing homes who flout the rules may be fined up to $2,000 per violation.