Coronavirus vaccination states must deliver swiftly to fake home-resident allergens

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has helped nursing home residents and staff and residential facilities near the top of the list for covid-19 vaccination. That is the right call. But public health officials should not forget about the millions of older adults living at home who are at risk of dying from covid-19. And as it is today, they may have to wait months for the vaccine. That delay could lead to many unnecessary deaths.

Because residents and staff of long-term care facilities are at such a high risk for catching the disease and dying with it – they represent 40 percent of pandemic deaths in the U.S. – they are right at the head in line with healthcare providers. Not only do long-term care residents have medical conditions that put them at high risk of serious illness or even death, they live in close quarters where the virus is easy to spread.

But keep in mind that most older adults with a number of medical conditions, and even most people with functional or mental health problems, live at home, and not in care facilities. long term. They, and their carers, need to be vaccinated as soon as possible.

CDC Guidelines

The CDC ‘s guidelines appear to place adults 65 and older and adults with high – risk medical conditions in the bottom line of their Stage 1 list. It is a strange choice because those with chronic diseases are far more likely to become seriously ill or die from COVID-19 than those who are 65+ and healthy. And most of those at risk – for the most part – stay at home.

Here ‘s the math (pretty rough): According to a special 2017 study by the Rand Corporation, about 80 percent of nearly 53 million Americans over the age of 65 have two or more harmful diseases – about 40 million people. Some of the most common conditions, such as heart and lung disease and diabetes, are associated with high mortality in covid-19 patients, according to a new study in Medicine PLOS.

Approximately 13 million people live with functional or mental health problems. And one new study shows that those who are very weak are far more likely to die with covid-19 than those who are not.

But only about 2 million live in nursing homes, supported living, and other long-term care facilities (another 700,000 receive post-hungry care in skilled nursing facilities). That’s only about 15 percent of those with functional and mental disorders, and less than 0.5 percent of those with multiple chronic conditions.

Vaccine challenges

Those vulnerable adults living at home who contract covid-19 may face risks such as severe illness and death and those living in long-term care facilities. -time. To be clear, those who live at home are far more likely to catch the virus. But if they do, the consequences could be just as dire.

Vaccinating these older people will not be easy. It will be challenging enough to vaccinate residents and staff of long-term care facilities. Older home-bound adults will find it even more difficult to vaccinate.

But it is not impossible. Health officials could start with those receiving Medicaid home and community services and those in managed care plans such as Medicare Advantage, Special Needs Plans, and the Inclusive Care Program for the Elderly (PACE) . Medicare service fee records may identify them for others at greatest risk. So could home care organizations.

Remember the ones at home

Home care workers and family carers also need to be high on the vaccine list. Home care nurses, for example, are likely to receive the same priority as other health care providers. But it’s not clear when non-medical home care assistants will receive their photos. They should be high on the list, as should those living with weak relatives.

It is likely to be summer before vaccines become widely available, so states must ration. But as they are, they should remember the millions of people who are at high risk of serious illness or death from the virus, but who live at home.

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