Hospitals Pressured on Covid Shots as Nursing Homes Fear Surge

Nursing homes—facing labor shortages, limited bed space, and faltering Covid-19 vaccination rates—want hospitals to provide seniors with updated booster shots before discharging them to their facilities.

About 90% of new nursing home arrivals come directly from hospitals. It’s unclear, however, what percentage have received Covid boosters or vaccinations because hospitals aren’t required to track the information. But “anecdotally, talking to our members, the majority have not gotten a vaccination during their hospital stay,” said David Gifford, chief medical officer for the American Health Care Association and National Counsel of Assisted Living.

With rising national infection rates pointing toward a winter ...