What We Know—and What We Don’t Know—About the Impact of the Pandemic on Our Most Vulnerable Community
Residents of nursing homes and other long-term-care facilities suffered an outsized impact from COVID-19. And yet we still don’t know how big of an impact, because so much data is missing or incomplete. What we do know makes plain that we failed to protect this community—and at great cost.
Giving Thanks and Looking Ahead: Our Data Collection Work Is Done
While our work to compile COVID-19 data has concluded, we will continue to share research, analysis, and documentation in the months ahead. We are enormously grateful to the hundreds of volunteers who made this work possible.
Federal COVID Data 101: Working with CMS Nursing Home Data
Here’s what we know about the only federal dataset on COVID-19 outcomes in long-term care facilities.
Vaccine Distribution Data in Long-Term-Care Facilities Needs to Be Public
For the last month, the public has had minimal visibility into the roll out of COVID-19 vaccines to long-term-care facilities. Last week, South Carolina published the names of nursing homes and other long-term-care facilities where residents and staff have been vaccinated. States—and the CDC—should follow suit.
How We Hope Vaccines Will Be Tracked
The federal government seems poised to provide high-quality data on vaccinations, but even a minimal dataset must answer key questions about who is getting vaccinated.
Vaccines Begin to Arrive as Cases and Deaths Keep Rising: This Week in Long-Term Care COVID-19 Data, Dec 16
Cases are up and known deaths in long-term-care facilities are the highest they’ve been since late May.
Surge Continues as Northeast and West Coast Cases Spike: This Week in Long-Term Care COVID-19 Data, Dec 9
Long-term-care facilities continue to bear the brunt of this deadly virus. The latest surge continues in the Midwest and South, as COVID-19 cases in the Northeast and West begin to spike.
Long-Term Care Deaths Pass 100,000 as Outbreaks Surge: This Week in Long-Term Care COVID-19 Data, Dec 2
Despite messy reporting due to the Thanksgiving holiday, this week saw continued high numbers of cases and deaths in long-term care communities. But relief may be on the way, as a CDC committee recommended that long-term care residents and staff be first in line to receive the coronavirus vaccine.
Nation Still Grappling with Long-Term Care Outbreaks as New Cases Double: This Week in Long-Term Care COVID-19 Data, Nov 24
Nearly 40 percent of new COVID-19 cases in long-term care facilities came from the Midwest, and just three facilities in Wyoming were home to half of that state’s new resident and staff cases, a dire reminder of how easily COVID-19 spreads within close-contact environments.
Cases Race Past Previous Highs: This Week in Long-Term Care COVID-19 Data, Nov 17
With COVID-19 cases surging across the country, long-term care facilities experienced their largest increase in six months. The LTC case surge is concentrated in the Midwest, mirroring the pattern of the US pandemic as a whole.
The Third Wave of COVID-19 Deaths in Long-Term Care Facilities is Here: This Week in Long-Term Care COVID-19 Data, November 11
In October, eight percent of long-term care facility residents diagnosed with COVID-19 died. The rising cases of the past few weeks are resulting in the highest number of deaths in months as states and facilities fail to protect these most vulnerable Americans.
Cases Stop Dropping and the Midwest Heats Up: This Week in COVID-19 Data, Sep 3
After five straight weeks of sharp declines in new cases of COVID-19 in the United States, we’ve leveled off again. Reported tests are up about 5 percent, but are actually dropping in the Midwest, where three states—Iowa, North Dakota, and South Dakota—are driving an uptick in new cases. This week we also launched a new dataset that looks closely at the toll of COVID-19 in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
Introducing the Long-Term Care COVID Tracker: Tracing COVID-19’s Dramatic Toll on a Uniquely Vulnerable Population
Our new dataset shows how COVID-19 has travelled through the nation’s long-term care facilities. The virus has killed one out of every 28 long-term care residents in the United States.
