Population had vaccine priority
week that as of Valentine’s Day, 635,369 nursing home residents across the country have tested positive for the virus, including 57,833 California residents. Thus far, 128,285 residents have died nationally, and 8,757 have died in California.
The declining rate of new cases among the nursing home populations is in part due to the demographic having had vaccination priority when the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines were approved by the FDA. But some professional caregivers and health care workers remain wary of receiving their shots.
The American Health Care Association issued a statement this week about the ongoing effort to encourage senior health care providers to get vaccinated in partnership with Leading Age, a nonprofit representing more than 5,000 nonprofit aging services providers throughout the country.
In coordination with the Centers for Disease Control, the organizations aim for 75 percent of the country’s 1.5 million nursing home staff to be vaccinated by the end of June.
“With COVID-19 vaccinations being distributed across long-term care facilities over the past two months, we have already seen a decline in cases in nursing homes, indicating that the vaccines are working,” said Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of AHCA. “Many of our staff continue to be excited about the vaccines and the hope they represent, but some caregivers still have questions.
“We are continuing to inform our staff about the credibility and safety of the vaccines through our #GetVaccinated campaign, and we hope this goal will further encourage more of our staff members to get the vaccine.”
In San Diego’s skilled nursing facilities, most of the county’s residents and staff have now been vaccinated or are awaiting their second shot.
Of the 5,911 nursing home residents in the county, 5,643 have received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 4,680 have received a second shot, as of Wednesday. Among the county’s 9,624 nursing home staff, 7,679 have received the first dose and 7,230 have received a second, a California Department of Public Health spokesperson said in an email Friday.
With San Diego currently in the state’s purple tier for COVID-19 restrictions, approved skilled nursing facilities can allow visitations in large, communal spaces either outdoors or indoors.
The California Department of Public Health is evaluating possible changes to the visitation policies while continuing to focus on fully vaccinating staff and residents throughout the state, a spokesperson said via email Friday.
“CDPH understands the importance of ensuring that residents of long-term care facilities maintain contact with their family and friends,” the spokesperson wrote. “Visitation policies are designed to protect the health and safety of residents, staff and the public while also considering a resident’s physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being and quality of life.”
Re “Downtown park needs what help it can get” (Feb. 20): Amazing how dysfunctional our city is. In 2015, with the input of the community, a plan was made to redo the poorly planned park. Located next to the Convention Center, the Children’s Museum and in the heart of our city, the place has become a homeless haven.
Dark, dirty, unattractive and dangerous. Six years later, yes six years, now the city finds out that the bids to renovate it are $1 million more than budgeted. Well, redo the plan and cut a million off the original plan. Or are we going to live with this nonfunctional park for another six years?
Mayor Todd Gloria must get involved.
Victor Ravelo Marina District