Despite being among the first eligible for COVID-19 booster shots, many nursing homes are struggling to boost residents and staff, experts say.
Nationally, about 72% of residents are boosted in each nursing home, according to data from the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services.MORE: Gap in COVID-19 vaccine uptake between urban and rural areas in the US continues to widen: CDC
But in about one-third of U.S. states, booster rates for residents are less than the national average among nursing homes, and three states have yet to crack an average of 60% of residents boosted in each facility.
Booster shots have been shown to be more protective against omicron and other COVID-19 variants. And nursing home residents continue to be among the most vulnerable people in terms of potential for severe illness and death — nearly 151,000 people in nursing homes have died since the beginning of the pandemic, CMS data shows.
Read more at ABC News.