The Biden administration says the facilities need to do more. Home executives say vaccine hesitancy requires a new government message.
Fewer than 4 in 10 nursing home residents have received the latest Covid shot — despite the carnage in the facilities since the disease first swept through in 2020.
The Biden administration and the care industry agree they share responsibility — but that hasn’t stopped them from blaming each other.
Xavier Becerra, the secretary of Health and Human Services, has held two meetings with representatives of the facilities since Dec. 21 to remind them that they must offer residents the shots. But nursing homes say the federal government needs to pay them more to administer the jabs — and Becerra needs to do a better job persuading people to get vaccinated.
A shrinking market with less customers, but similar capacity still works against their interests. It’s odd that a for profit system is not correcting to ensure further profits.