COVID-19 vaccination to be required for Connecticut nursing home workers

Nursing home employees in Connecticut will be required to get a coronavirus vaccine under an order currently being drafted by the Lamont administration.

“That’s going to be a priority for us,” Gov. Ned Lamont said Wednesday at a press conference in Manchester.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker issued a similar mandate on Wednesday, saying that the vaccine remains the best way to prevent COVID-19 infections in both patients and staff.

Nursing homes in Connecticut and around the nation were among the hardest hit by earlier waves of the coronavirus. In Connecticut, 3,886 nursing home residents have died of the virus as of July 22.

In recent months, with vaccination rates climbing, new cases of COVID-19 and deaths attributed to the virus in nursing homes have dropped sharply; five residents have died since June 17. More than 90% of nursing home residents have been vaccinated.

But the rise of the delta variant and unknowns about the long-term efficacy of the vaccines have raised new concerns about spiking caseloads.

“Given where we were ... 16 months ago, it’s more important than ever,” Lamont said. “We know a lot of the vaccinations are wearing off in the elder community, where they maybe don’t keep the antibodies as long.”

The Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities and the Connecticut Center for Assisted Living urges long-term care workers to receive the vaccine but stopped short of joining the call to make the shots mandatory.

But if a government vaccination mandate is enacted, the two industry groups proposed a series of guidelines. They include exemptions for medically compromised people who cannot receive a vaccine and flexible scheduling and time off so workers can recover from possible side effects.

“Even considering very real staffing concerns, certainly there are merits to having a staff vaccine mandate apply equally across the long-term care system, and even equally beyond nursing homes to the health care provider community across the board,” said Matthew Barrett, executive director of the Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities.

“If Connecticut state government adopted such a policy, the public should expect that Connecticut nursing homes would comply without any hesitancy with such a directive. Some are already moving in this direction,” Barrett said.

On Tuesday, Genesis HealthCare, one of the largest operators of skilled nursing facilities in the state, instituted such a mandate.

Lamont said his administration has been having discussions with nursing home operators and he expected to issue the order within the next 24 hours.

Nursing home residents were among the first groups in Connecticut to receive COVID-19 shots; the process began in late December. But the long-term efficacy of the coronavirus vaccine is unknown and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is studying whether people will need booster shots to preserve immunity.

Baker cited the vulnerability of older residents living in a congregate setting in announcing the Massachusetts mandate.

“COVID-19 vaccination is the most effective method for preventing infection and serious illness from the virus, and staff at long-term care facilities and other health care providers serving vulnerable populations are critical in efforts to protect older residents,’' he said, in a statement. “Today’s actions reinforce the state’s commitment to ensuring the safety and care for these residents, some of our most vulnerable residents.”

Nursing home workers in Massachusetts will be required to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 10.

Most hospital systems in Connecticut have adopted a similar requirement for their employees.

Daniela Altimari can be reached at dnaltimari@courant.com.

©2021 Hartford Courant. Visit courant.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.