Across the country, long-term care facilities are vaccinating their staff and residents, with approximately 3.1 million dosesdelivered as of last week and rates of COVID-19 infection in nursing home residents declining for the past four weeks.
This excellent news leads to questions about how the vaccination rollout will impact the daily lives of staff and residents who have been under lockdown since last March.
Residents, families and staff are eager to return to as many of their previous activities as possible, yet understandably wary given their experiences during the pandemic. The past year has been marked by tragic loss, shifting safety guidance, inconsistent availability of personal protective equipment in some areas and other challenges.
Those in long-term care have many questions regarding when and how to loosen restrictions. Answers to some of them may be on websites such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or found in the news media, but it would be helpful to have one easily navigated site geared specifically to their concerns.