To obtain funding under Medicare and Medicaid programs, nursing homes must require all staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19, President Joe Biden announced.
President Joe Biden announced during a White House press conference that he is asking the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop a new set of standards requiring obligatory staff vaccination as a condition for facilities seeking or continuing to receive federal funds.
Biden mandates nursing home workers to get vaccinated
"More than 130,000 residents of nursing homes, unfortunately, passed away during this virus," Biden said, citing the disparity between the high number of nursing care patient deaths and the low percentage of workers who have been vaccinated. "At the same time, vaccination rates among nursing home staff significantly trail the rest of the country," he added.
Around 15,000 nursing homes operate in the United States, employing roughly 1.3 million people and receiving funding from Medicare or Medicaid. Only about 60% of those workers are vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Federal employees and contractors, medical professionals at Veterans Affairs facilities, and active-duty military and national guard members are among those targeted by Biden's administration for obligatory vaccination.
Many Americans have reacted negatively to increased vaccine requirements in the United States, particularly those imposed by private companies and government agencies.
When Biden acknowledged the limits of his power, praised huge firms for enacting regulations, and urged for even more employers to do the same, he seemed to be speaking to those Americans. He reminded Americans that vaccine mandates are not a new restriction on their liberties, as per Newsweek.
Any facility that does not comply with the mandate will be denied Medicare or Medicaid funding. The mandate comes as the federal government uses all of its capabilities to get more Americans vaccinated, while instances in nursing homes continue to grow, particularly in facilities where staff immunization rates are low.
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Nursing homes became COVID-19 hotspots
In December, nursing home workers and residents became the first Americans to be eligible for the vaccine. Early in the pandemic, the institutions immediately became virus hotspots, and the fragile elderly population made up a large portion of the virus' first death toll.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the CMS has reported 133,631 COVID-19 deaths among nursing home patients. However, with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo being discovered changing records to decrease nursing home mortality, and similar allegations made against the state of Michigan, the data may not be complete.
As the Indian Delta variation continues its onslaught across the country, cases and deaths in the facilities, as well as the rest of the country, are on the rise once more. According to the CMS, 2,059 COVID-19 cases were discovered among nursing home residents in the week of August 1 - the most recent week for which data is available - a 144 percent rise over the previous week's total of 841.
According to CNN, weekly cases in areas where less than half of nursing home staff were vaccinated were eight times higher than in other states. During that time, the number of deaths has increased by 145 percent, from 90 to 221.
This demonstrates that vaccination of nursing home workers can help prevent residents from catching the virus. The order from Biden will affect the unvaccinated 40% of America's 1.3 million nursing staffers. It will be implemented as soon as next month.
This isn't the first time Biden has used the federal government's power to persuade Americans to get vaccinated. Biden announced new restrictions for federal employees and contractors last month, requiring them to submit a form attesting to vaccination or follow rigorous masking and distancing guidelines.
The COVID-19 vaccine will be added to the list of shots that the US military demands of its members. In addition, the President has pushed private firms to begin forcing employees to be vaccinated to keep their employment, Daily Mail reported.
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