Name: NY state adds new COVID vaccine rules for nursing homes as workers decline jab
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NY state adds new COVID vaccine rules for nursing homes as workers decline jab

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Nearly half of New York’s nursing home workers — so the state Department of Health is putting more pressure on the facilities to bridge the gap, The Post has learned.&nbsp;Health Department brass issued new guidance late Thursday that requires nursing homes to offer “an opportunity to receive” the jab to all consenting residents and staff by April 29 and within two weeks of a new hire or a new admission, records obtained by The Post show.Both staff and residents who opt out will need to sign paperwork acknowledging that they are declining.Facilities that don’t comply with the new rules may be penalized up to $2,000 per violation, the DOH said.“They’re trying to get people vaccinated and they’re trying to incentivize it,” Michael Balboni, executive director of the Greater New York Health Care Facilities Association, said of the new requirement. &nbsp;Only 60 percent of workers in the facilities statewide have gotten the shot since December — and just 56 percent of staff in the five boroughs have received the vaccine, the .By comparison, 80 percent of nursing home residents statewide have been vaccinated and 73 percent in the city have gotten the jab.&nbsp;“The residents aren’t the problem, it’s really the low vaccination rates with the staff,” Balboni said.“There are health care workers who are afraid to take the vaccine, period. How do you convince them that this is in the best interest for themselves and their families? It’s something that everybody is still trying to figure out.”A DOH spokesperson said the “emergency” regulations were necessary in order to ensure no vaccines are going to waste and anyone who wants to get vaccinated is easily able to.“Nursing home operators have known all along that a COVID vaccine is one of the best ways to protect residents and staff from this dangerous virus,” the spokesperson wrote in a statement.“Inexplicably, numerous nursing homes are letting vaccine doses sit on shelves, and that’s&nbsp;why DOH recently enacted emergency regulations requiring&nbsp;nursing homes to&nbsp;offer all consenting, unvaccinated, existing&nbsp;​and new personnel and residents an opportunity to get vaccinated.”One nursing home official claimed the guidelines were released without enough consultation — and argued they don’t take into account challenges facilities will face adhering to the rules.&nbsp;“The problem is, nursing homes are having a hard time getting the vaccine,” the source said.&nbsp;The source said the 14-day rule will be difficult to abide by because nursing homes will be reliant on pharmacies, counties and other entities to make the doses available.It is also challenging for the facilities to access smaller quantities of the vaccine, which could lead to waste, they noted.“It’s just another example of [the state] going off on its own without talking to anyone who runs a nursing home,” the source griped.The source said the recent exodus of DOH staffers has compounded the problem and a lot of the state’s best health experts have left.&nbsp;“There’s just a whole lack of communication, this whole thing, why would you roll this out and never talk to the nursing homes?” they said.The DOH said it made numerous attempts in February and March to conduct outreach with nursing homes and claimed some facilities weren’t responsive.

Nearly half of New York’s nursing home workers — so the state Department of Health is putting more pressure on the facilities to bridge the gap, The Post has learned.&nbsp;Health Department brass issued new guidance late Thursday that requires nursing homes to offer “an opportunity to receive” the jab to all consenting residents and staff by April 29 and within two weeks of a new hire or a new admission, records obtained by The Post show.Both staff and residents who opt out will need to sign paperwork acknowledging that they are declining.Facilities that don’t comply with the new rules may...

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NY state adds new COVID vaccine rules for nursing homes as workers decline jab

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