AARP report shows Florida leads nation in number of COVID-19 deaths of nursing home residents and staff
AARP released the Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard, which tracks nursing home data including cases, deaths, resident and staff vaccination rates. The new report shows that Florida leads the nation with 237 nursing home resident deaths from COVID-19, representing 21 percent of 1,125 total COVID-19 deaths occurring in nursing homes across the United States. Florida also has the highest number of nursing home staff who are dying of COVID-19, with 13 deaths occurring in the state over the same time period, representing 17 percent of 76 total staff deaths nationally.
AARP Florida State Director Jeff Johnson said, “It is a frightening, tragic time in our state. The new data released in today’s dashboard is a heartbreaking reminder that the pandemic is not over. As vaccination rates have stalled, COVID cases have risen, and Florida nursing home deaths have soared to the highest in the nation.
While the vaccination rate of Florida’s nursing home staff increased from 45 percent to 48 percent in the latest dashboard report, Florida is one of only three states still below 50 percent in vaccination of staff at nursing homes joining Missouri and Louisiana. Florida continues to be far below the industry standard of 75 percent staff vaccination and the national average of 63.5 percent.
Only seven percent, or approximately 50 of Florida’s nearly 700 nursing homes, have met the industry standard and vaccinated at least 75 percent of their staff. The percent of Florida nursing homes reporting new staff cases of COVID-19 more than doubled since the previous month’s report, increasing from 40.3 percent to 94 percent, the highest in the nation and nearly double the national average of 51 percent.
The percent of new resident cases quadrupled during the same time period, from 12.6 percent to 61 percent, three times the national average of 20 percent.
Approximately 22 percent of Florida’s nursing homes continue to suffer from staffing shortages, up from 18 percent in the previous month’s report.
