December 22, 2023 Washington, DC — Following a meeting with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and leaders of nursing home sector associations yesterday, Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge, the association of nonprofit providers of aging services, reiterated nonprofit, mission-driven providers’ commitment to increasing vaccination rates among nursing home residents and, in a letter sent to HHS leader Xavier Becerra, urged the secretary to take action. A statement is below: 

“COVID vaccinations are among the most effective tool to keep older adults safe, but vaccination rates among Americans are concerningly low this year—including among nursing home residents.

While LeadingAge’s nonprofit and mission-driven member nursing homes have vaccination rates significantly above the average—as of December 10, the NHSN data show that 45.94% of residents in LeadingAge member nursing homes are up-to-date, more than 10% higher than the national average of 33.13—we know more can be done to increase the number of older adults protected.

I urge HHS Sec Xavier Becerra to leverage his position as a federal health leader to appeal directly to residents and their family members. We will continue to provide our members with tools and resources to support their ongoing efforts, but HHS cannot abandon its obligation to do more.”