Florida’s nursing home residents are trailing most of the US in getting booster shots

Florida’s vulnerable nursing home residents lag all but two other states in booster shots, putting them at risk as the omicron variant spreads.

AARP on Thursday released the Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard, which shows Florida ranks the third-worst state in the nation with only 24% of nursing home residents receiving boosters — well behind the national average of 39%, as of Nov. 21.

The low percentage has AARP Florida director Jeff Johnson concerned as experts warn that a booster shot is critical to fully protect people against the omicron variant. New research has begun to show two doses alone of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines are less effective against omicron than they are against the original form of the virus.

“It’s clear that our state has more work to do to ensure that nursing home residents and staff have access to booster shots,” AARP Florida director Jeff Johnson said.

Nursing home staff receiving booster shots is even lower, at 9%, which is in the bottom third when compared across states, the data shows. AARP uses data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — which is self-reported by nursing homes.

Throughout the pandemic, Florida’s nursing home residents have been the most at risk for COVID-19. Overall, 75% of COVID deaths in the state have been residents 65 and older.

While the AARP data was collected through November, Johnson said the uptake in boosters in December at nursing homes has been minimal, “probably a few percentage points.”

Federal and state leaders made nursing home residents a priority when the COVID vaccine initially was rolled out in early 2021. However, that same emphasis has not occurred with the booster shots, Johnson noted.

“What we have heard about omicron is that it might be less severe, but I have real concerns about the most vulnerable. We don’t know the data on whether this is less severe for people at high risk,” Johnson said.

Other AARP dashboard highlights:

The push for boosters has been on since October at The Palace Group, which owns eight long-term care facilities in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. “We have the benefit of owning our own pharmacy so we were able to do onsite clinics,” said Adam Rosenblum, vice president of marketing and sales for The Palace Group.

Rosenblum said about 85% of the 1,500 vaccinated residents are boosted and about 70% of vaccinated staff.

“Who knows what tomorrow holds but were are poised to be in a better position because of the high rate of residents boosted,” Rosenblum said. “When you have an aging population with pre-existing conditions, it’s important they receive as much protection as possible.”

Sun Sentinel health reporter Cindy Goodman can be reached at cgoodman@sunsentinel.com or Twitter @cindykgoodman.,

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