President Joe Biden’s administration is poised to announce an ultimatum for the the nation’s nursing home workers: requiring that all nursing home workers get vaccinated against coronavirus.
Biden plans to leverage the federal government’s control over Medicare and Medicaid funding to force vaccinations. According to a report from CNN, he has asked the Department of Health and Human Services to draw up a rule that would strip federal funds through these programs from nursing homes that are not in compliance with vaccine requirements.
“As we see the spread of Delta and the threat of Covid cases, it is really especially important that we ensure that those caring for our most vulnerable are vaccinated,” White House COVID-19 response team member Carole Johnson told the network.
Florida has a remarkably low rate of vaccination among its nursing home workers with recent reports showing that less than half had been vaccinated. Horror stories have emerged of nursing home workers outright refusing to get vaccinated when asked by families and Florida governor Ron DeSantis has defended this position. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the state also leads the nation in number of nursing home workers who have contracted COVID-19.
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This article appears in Aug 18-24, 2021.