Deaths in US nursing homes fall sharply

US nursing homes, once the deadliest COVID-19 sites in the US, have experienced a significant fall in cases and deaths since December in a trend largely attributed to the rollout of millions of vaccine doses, federal government figures show.

The weekly rate of COVID-19 cases at nursing homes fell 89 percent between early December and the second week of February, the US Health and Human Services Department said. By comparison, the nationwide case rate fell 58 percent and remains higher than figures reported before late October.

Nursing home cases are at the lowest level since the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in May began requiring the country's more than 15,500 facilities to report cases each week. The 3,505 new cases reported in the second week of February are nearly half as many recorded the week before and just one-tenth as many counted in one December week, the highest of the pandemic, the figures show.

More than 170,000 US citizens have died in nursing homes and other long-term care and assisted-living facilities, the COVID Tracking Project said.

Much faster pace

Federal figures show the number of new cases is falling within homes at a much faster pace than in communities where the homes are located.

An analysis of preliminary data collected by the American Health Care Association found the number of new cases fell at a faster rate when nursing homes vaccinated residents and staff. The analysis compared 797 homes that had vaccinated residents and staff in late December with more than 1,700 homes in the same county that had yet to be vaccinated.

The New York Times quoted David Gifford, chief medical officer for the American Health Care Association, as saying: "I'm almost at a loss for words at how amazing it is and how exciting." However, Gifford cautioned that more research is needed to determine how much the drop in cases is attributable to vaccines.

President Joe Biden hailed the US announcement of its third available vaccine, made by Johnson & Johnson, for emergency use on Saturday.

The single-shot vaccine is highly effective at preventing severe COVID-19, including against newer variants, the US Food and Drug Administration said before giving it a green light.

The news comes following passage in the House of Representatives of a $1.9 trillion spending bill. It includes payments of $1,400 to most US citizens and billions of dollars to improve vaccine delivery.

Agencies contributed to this story.