Advocates are calling on Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) to extend last week’s announcement requiring nursing home staff and contract employees to receive COVID-19 vaccinations be extended to include employees in assisted living communities.
As it stands, skilled nursing workers across Massachusetts will need to get at least a first dose of a COVID-19 by Sept. 1 and be fully vaccinated by Oct. 10. The governor, however, was mum on the state’s 270 certified assisted living residences, which care 16,000 residents and have about 22,000 staff.
“The Baker administration made the right call by mandating vaccination of staff in skilled nursing facilities, and we want to build on this effort as partners in protecting older adults across the care continuum,” Brian Doherty, president and chief executive of the Massachusetts Assisted Living Association, told the Boston Globe.
The Executive Office of Elder Affairs issued the following statement on the topic: “The Commonwealth continues to work with [assisted living] owners and operators to provide opportunities for residents and staff to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, including at one of the over 900 vaccination locations across the Commonwealth,” the statement said, according to a Boston Globe report.
Some providers have taken it upon themselves to require all healthcare workers to be vaccinated, an action supported by The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living and LeadingAge. Some operators remain hesitant to issue mandates for fear of losing staff.
