60% of nursing home staff in Ohio are refusing to get vaccinated, according to the state governor

• #Ohio #Governor #Mike #DeWine said that 60% of nursing home staff there don’t want to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
• “#We aren’t going to make them, but we wish they had a higher compliance,” said #DeWine at a press conference.
• #According to the #Covid #Tracking #Project, 38% of all COVID-19 deaths in the US have been nursing home residents.
• #In #Ohio, staff and residents of nursing homes are getting top priority for vaccines.
• #Visit #Business #Insider’s homepage for more stories.

#Ohio #Governor #Mike #DeWine on #Wednesday expressed concern that too few frontline healthcare staff were getting vaccinated against COVID-19, and said that 60% of nursing home staff chose not to get the shot.

“#We aren’t going to make them, but we wish they had a higher compliance, #DeWine said at a press conference #Wednesday, according to The #Columbus #Dispatch.

“#Our message today is the train may not be coming back for a while.”

#DeWine said he wanted to instill a “sense of urgency” among those eligible for the shot.

“I’m not satisfied with where we are in #Ohio,” he said. “#We’re not moving fast enough, but we’re going to get there.”

#DeWine did not say why so many nursing home workers were not to receive the vaccination.

#Ohio’s #Department of #Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

#Getting staff at nursing homes vaccinated is one of the top priorities for public health officials.

#Residents of nursing homes account for 38% of all US deaths from the virus, according to the COVID #Tracking #Project, launched by The #Atlantic magazine.

#In recent weeks the number of nursing home COVID-19 deaths in #Ohio has spiked, per The #Columbus #Dispatch, underscoring the urgency of getting staff vaccinated.

The two vaccines that have been approved for use by federal government health regulators are being rolled out in #Ohio in partnership with pharmacies including #Walgreens and CVS.

#Older adults and teachers are next to receive the vaccine in the state after frontline healthcare workers, according to #Ohio’s vaccination plan.