The delay in a nationwide vaccination mandate for nursing home staff members has families and residents expressing frustration and concern about unvaccinated individuals providing direct care, The New York Times reported Oct. 20.
"I just feel like a sitting duck,” an anonymous resident told The New York Times. "It just feels horribly unsafe."
Ten states, including Florida, Michigan and Ohio, still report nursing home staff vaccination rates under 60 percent, according to The New York Times.
Other states, and some large nursing home chains, have imposed their own mandates. Many administrators, however, are waiting for the federal government to issue new rules that will mandate vaccination for staff members.
Federal officials say they expect to issue the regulations sometime in late October. Officials from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which will be issuers, would not provide The New York Times with comment on the forthcoming rules.