COVID-19 Deaths in LTC Facilities at Record Low
COVID-19 deaths in long-term health care facilities have been a significant concern since the start of the pandemic. However, good news is now being reported.
The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) released data that shows deaths in Long-Term Care facilities in the United States are now at a record low. Since Operation Warp Speed started in December 2020, delivering vaccines to the nation's nursing homes, the U.S. has fully vaccinated over 1.4 million residents in long-term care facilities and over 1 million staff who work in those facilities.
Vaccinations are Working and Saving Lives
The result of this vaccination program has produced outstanding results. Since then, weekly deaths in nursing homes have continued to drop significantly, much of which has been attributed to the high vaccination rates among nursing home residents.
The state reported data (41 states plus Washington DC) was reviewed by KFF and assed the four months since vaccinations started on December 21st, 2020. Twenty-one states reported an all-time low death rate in April 2021. Five states reported zero long-term care facility deaths per 100,000 state residents in April 2021.
Since COVID-19 vaccinations were launched, the number of COVID-19 deaths in these long-term care facilities across all states analyzed declined by 89% as of April 2021
Seniors More Receptive to Taking Vaccine – Results Show its Working
New cases of COVID-19 infection in long-term care facilities dropped by 92% between December 2020 and April 2021. This is a pattern that is reflected in state-level data as well.
Senior citizens have accounted for most of the deaths from COVID-19. Data shows that about 8 out of 10 deaths from the COVID-19 virus impacted the United States. Approximately 570,000 seniors have died from COVID-19.
The federal government reports that COVID-19 hospitalizations are down dramatically among senior citizens. This group has had access to the COVID-19 vaccine since day one, and they have actively been receptive to taking the vaccine.
Over 80% of senior citizens have gotten at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot compared to just over 50% of all adults.