Ecological Analysis of the Decline in Incidence Rates of COVID-19 among Nursing Home Residents Associated with Vaccination, United States, December 2020-January 2021

Benin, Andrea L.; Soe, Minn M.; Edwards, Jonathan R.; Bagchi, Suparna; Link-Gelles, Ruth; Schrag, Stephanie J.; Herzer, Kurt; Verani, Jennifer R.; Budnitz, Daniel; Nanduri, Srinivas; Jernigan, John; Edens, Chris; Gharpure, Radhika; Patel, Anita; Wu, Hsiu; Golshir, Beth C.; Jaffe, Aaron; Li, Qunna; Srinivasan, Arjun; Shulman, Evan; Ling, Shari M.; Moody-Williams, Jean; Fleisher, Lee A.; Pollock, Daniel A.; Bell, Jeneita

Objective To evaluate if facility-level vaccination after an initial vaccination clinic was independently associated with COVID-19 incidence adjusted for other factors in January 2021 among nursing home residents. Design Ecological analysis of data from the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) and from the CDC’s Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program. Setting and Participants CMS-certified nursing homes participating in both NHSN and the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program. Methods A multivariable, random intercepts, negative binomial model was applied to contrast COVID-19 incidence rates among residents living in facilities with an initial vaccination clinic during the week ending January 3, 2021 (n=2,843) versus those living in facilities with no vaccination clinic reported up to and including the week ending January 10, 2021 (n=3,216). Model covariates included: bed size, resident SARS-CoV-2 testing, staff with COVID-19, cumulative COVID-19 among residents, residents admitted with COVID-19, community county incidence, and county social-vulnerability index (SVI). Results In December 2020 and January 2021, incidence of COVID-19 among nursing home residents declined to the lowest point since reporting began in May, diverged from the pattern in community cases, and began dropping before vaccination occurred. Comparing week 3 following an initial vaccination clinic versus week 2, the adjusted reduction in COVID-19 rate in vaccinated facilities was 27% greater than the reduction in facilities where vaccination clinics had not yet occurred (95% confidence interval: 14–38%, p<0.05). Conclusions and Implications Vaccination of residents contributed to the decline in COVID-19 incidence in nursing homes; however other factors also contributed. The decline in COVID-19 was evident prior to widespread vaccination highlighting the benefit of a multifaced approach to prevention including continued use of recommended screening, testing and infection prevention practices as well as vaccination to keep residents in nursing homes safe.