New AARP Analysis: Vaccination Rates among Nursing Home Staff in Michigan Increased in Four Weeks Ending October 17

Vaccination rates among nursing home staff in Michigan increased as of October 17, according to latest data from AARP’s Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard, with 58.1% of staff fully vaccinated.  Nationally, an additional 7% of staff in nursing homes were fully vaccinated as of the same time period, the largest monthly increase since AARP’s dashboard began tracking vaccination rates in June.  It brings the total percentage of staff who are vaccinated to 74% nationwide. The Biden administration recently released a federal rule requiring that all health care workers in facilities that participate in Medicare and Medicaid be fully vaccinated by January 4, 2022. 

Here in Michigan, nursing home resident vaccination rates increased by .9% in the same time period to a total of 83.8%.  Nationally, nursing home resident vaccination rates increased by 1% in the same time period to a total of 86% nationwide.

“More than a year and a half into the pandemic, COVID-19 continues its assault on nursing homes,” said Paul D. Cunningham, State Director of AARP, which serves nearly 1.3 million members age 50 and older in Michigan. “Increasing vaccination rates among nursing home residents and staff is key to protecting our loved ones and getting the pandemic under control.”

Resident deaths from coronavirus increased in Michigan from a rate of .15 in mid-September to .16 per 100 residents in mid-October.  Nationally, death rates remained constant compared to the same time period in AARP’s dashboard, with more than 2,000 nursing home residents dying of COVID-19 for the second consecutive month.

Nationally, the rate of COVID-19 cases declined by one-quarter for residents and one-third for staff. In Michigan, resident cases decreased from a rate of .91 in mid-September to .87 in mid-October. Michigan is one of 13 states that saw increases in staff cases, from a rate of 1.63 in mid-September to 2.45 in mid-October.

The number of facilities in Michigan reporting a shortage of nurses or aides increased by .5% in the four weeks ending October 17. Nationally, that number increased by 1% over the same time period, reaching 30% – the highest rate reported since CMS began reporting data in spring 2020.  

The AARP Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard analyzes federally reported data in four-week periods going back to June 1, 2020. Using this data, the AARP Public Policy Institute, in collaboration with the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University in Ohio, created the dashboard to provide snapshots of the virus’ infiltration into nursing homes and impact on nursing home residents and staff, with the goal of identifying specific areas of concern at the national and state levels in a timely manner.

The full Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard is available at www.aarp.org/nursinghomedashboard, and an AARP story about this month’s data is available here. For more information on how coronavirus is impacting nursing homes and AARP’s advocacy on this issue, visit www.aarp.org/nursinghomes. Medicare.gov’s Care Compare website now offers information about vaccination rates within nursing homes and how they compare to state and national averages.