Report finds mixed nursing home results
Despite a sharp overall drop in coronavirus infections in nursing homes in recent months, hundreds of U.S. nursing homes that weathered 2020 without any COVID-19 cases have reported new cases since 2021 began.
This happened even though the elderly were among the first to get COVID-19 vaccines during the initial rollout in mid-December, fueling an 83 percent drop in new cases in nursing homes nationwide by early February. In Pennsylvania, new cases dropped by 87 percent.
These surprising revelations are among the findings of the third in a series of reports by PennPIRG Education Fund and Frontier Group, based on ana
lyzing government data about nursing homes and COVID-19.
Over the course of the pandemic, the nation’s 15,000 nursing homes have been COVID-19 bellwethers. These new cases are a clear indication that while things are getting better, our society still faces risks from the virus. However, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services this month issued new guidance, relaxing visitation restrictions.
“With nearly 550,000 Americans dead by now, you would think we would have learned our lesson,” said Emma Horst-Martz, PennPIRG Advocate “We must continue to protect residents and staff to prevent any more deaths.”
Our latest analysis points to other areas of concern, including:
Twenty-four nursing homes in Pennsylvania reported their first cases ever during the pandemic in the first 4 weeks of 2021.
Nationally, more than 600 nursing homes nationwide reported three or more new resident cases during the first week of February, more than a month after mass vaccinations started in nursing homes.
Forty nursing homes in Pennsylvania reported new cases during the first week of February.
More than 7,000 nursing home residents contracted COVID-19 once last year, recovered and then were re-infected between late November and early February.
While shortages of masks, gowns and other personal protective equipment have improved, nearly 6 percent of nursing homes in February reported a critical shortage of N95 masks, which experts say are the single best protection against contracting COVID-19.
Undoubtedly, though, the overall situation in nursing homes is improving. No homes in Pennsylvania reported initial cases on Jan. 31 or Feb. 7, which is encouraging. Pennsylvania also had the third biggest decline in new cases in the first 3 weeks (data begins Dec. 20) among residents (excluding 2 states that had barely any cases in December). Pennsylvania saw a 52 percent decline in new cases in just 3 weeks, and 87 percent drop in new cases in 7 weeks, as of Feb. 7. The U.S. average was 83 percent drop by Feb. 7.
The advocacy group’s analysis found that new cases among nursing home residents soared through the fall, reaching 33,212 nationwide for the week ending Dec. 20, when nursing homes started administering vaccinations. Cases dropped by several thousand in just the first week. By the early February, new cases had plunged to 5,573 — a decline of 83 percent in seven weeks.
The declines were similarly impressive among staff. During the peak week, ending Dec. 13, 28,457 nursing home workers nationwide tested positive for new cases. That dropped to 5,308 — a decrease of 81 percent in seven weeks.
“This fantastic news validates what everyone was hoping — that the vaccines work. What’s stunning is how quickly cases plummeted after residents received just one shot,” said HorstMartz.