Positive cases among workers have repeatedly led to residents being restricted to their rooms for two weeks while in-person visits are canceled. On Monday, The Pines in Glens Falls canceled visitation for two floors of residents after one employee tested positive.
Outbreaks at nursing homes have dropped precipitously since almost all residents were vaccinated. But the vaccine has its limits, especially for people who are already elderly, sick and frail. A fully vaccinated resident at Washington Center in Argyle died of COVID during an outbreak that was unintentionally spread by workers last month.
"I just lost my girlfriend, Carol, to the virus and she had been fully vaccinated," said Washington Center resident Ron Hintz. "Unfortunately, it is now apparent that getting 'fully' vaccinated does not fully protect us. It killed Carol. And, unfortunately, the virus is not done killing people."
He's asked the Washington Center administrator to require all employees to get vaccinated.
"Nursing homes have paid a heavy price to get where we are. Must we continue to gamble with our lives?" he said. "I guess we're depending on 'herd immunity,' i.e. a crap shoot."
Washington Center is far from herd immunity. A little more than 40% of the workers there have been vaccinated.
It varies significantly from site to site. At the Fort Hudson nursing home in Fort Edward, 83% of the workforce is vaccinated.
At Elderwood in North Creek, 74.7% of the current workforce is fully vaccinated. At one clinic there, every worker except a few who were quarantined or ill was vaccinated, said Warren County Health Services Director Ginelle Jones, who noted it's hard to keep up to date with the amount of turnover normal at nursing homes.
Health Services workers are trying to get every health care worker vaccinated. Every time they have leftover doses after a clinic, which is happening often now, they call the nursing homes. They also have enough vaccine now to vaccinate any new employee or resident at the nursing homes in Warren and Washington counties.
State rules say they must be offered the vaccine within 14 days, but Warren County offers it much more quickly.
"We're doing it within minutes," Jones said.
She noted that the percentage of nursing home workers vaccinated reflects roughly the same percentage of people in the county who are vaccinated. But she urged the rest to get vaccinated soon.
"I think anybody providing care, everybody taking care of others, should get vaccinated to protect themselves, to protect the population they work with and to protect their family," she said.
She added that she wasn't criticizing nursing home employees. They've done an incredible job in hard conditions this last year, she said, highlighting their extra efforts to provide socially distanced programs and run videoconferencing with family during shutdowns.
"The staff had to be incredibly creative to keep people engaged," she said.
But she would be happy if the vaccine were mandatory for everyone.
"I personally am for it. I just think the sooner everybody gets vaccinated, the more back to normal everyone will become," she said. "I don't see a drawback. It's kind of doing your part for the community."
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday that SUNY and CUNY students who attend classes in person this fall will be required to get vaccinated if the vaccine receives full approval by then. The Food and Drug Administrator has so far approved emergency use, which is not the same as full approval.
Others are waiting for full approval before even considering making the vaccine mandatory.
"In terms of vaccination requirements, I don't see that as very likely and we're not considering it at this time," said Fort Hudson CEO Andy Cruikshank. "I guess we'll have to cross that bridge when it comes, and I would be only one of several involved in that decision. If CDC or DOH were to make such a recommendation, that may sway things."
He acknowledged that the statewide vaccination rate among nursing home employees had been "disappointingly low."
For now, he and other nursing home administrators are trying to persuade workers instead of requiring the vaccine. At Fort Hudson, administrators are "extraordinarily vigilant" in helping employees schedule appointments at clinics, he said.
He thinks most will eventually choose to get vaccinated.
"Most new employees joining us are arriving fully vaccinated," he said. "We have seen a number of employees decide to get vaccinated in light of the restrictions placed on them following interstate or international travel."
If they're not vaccinated, they have to stay home from work for 14 days after their trip, and they aren't paid. The time is not eligible for sick pay either. That's motivating people to get vaccinated before a trip, he said.
At Centers, spokesman Jeff Jacomowitz noted that many more employees have gotten vaccinated recently, compared to the small number who accepted the vaccine when it was first offered in December and January.
Administrators "highly encourage it" and emphasize its safety, he said. They encourage workers to get the vaccine for themselves and for the residents' safety.
"Over the past few months, we are very pleased to say that the percentage of staff that have gotten the COVID-19 vaccine has increased at our Adirondacks facilities," he said.
But residents who are kept in their rooms for 14 days after an employee tests positive, and family members who aren't allowed to visit them during that time, want stronger measures.
"Centers has put up some real big posters to encourage getting vaccinated," Hintz said. "I think they need some encouragement to make it a requirement."
You can reach Kathleen Moore at 742-3247 or kmoore@poststar.com. Follow her on Twitter @ByKathleenMoore or at her blog on www.poststar.com.
___
(c)2021 The Post Star (Glens Falls, N.Y.)
Visit The Post Star (Glens Falls, N.Y.) at www.poststar.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
