Nursing home deaths attributed to COVID-19 were four times higher in November than they were in June, according to new data from AARP.
Closing in on the holiday season, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have continued to rise across the country, and the CDC has noted vaccination rates for adults are lower than it would like to see.
The same is true for the nursing home population, which tends to be more vulnerable to the virus as it is. Right now, only 27% of nursing home residents are vaccinated, according to the AARP report.
Workers at nursing home facilities are also getting vaccinated at low rates, with only 7% reportedly being up-to-date on their COVID-19 vaccines.
The combination of increasing COVID-19 cases nationally, low vaccination rates in a particularly vulnerable group, and low worker vaccination rates could cause deaths to rise even more.
However, some states are faring better than the national average. Both South Dakota and North Dakota have more than half of their nursing home residents vaccinated, according to the data, at 54.8% and 52.6%, respectively. Vermont follows close behind at 46.5%.
States with the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates in nursing homes are Arizona, with just 10.2% of residents vaccinated, as well as Alabama and Arkansas, both with 16.6% vaccination rates.
"Given the severe impact COVID-19 has had on nursing home residents and staff over the last few years, it remains important to make available and encourage vaccination among nursing home residents and staff to help ensure their health and well-being," Rhonda Richards, AARP's senior legislative representative for health and family issues, stated in the news release.