Moving Needles: Increasing Rates of Immunization in PALTC

Individuals enter assisted living and long-term care facilities for a number of reasons. Primary on their minds, and the minds of their loved ones, is safety. They expect — rightly so — that they or their loved one will be protected. One way to keep residents of post-acute and long-term care settings safe is through vaccination. Close contact and close living quarters place both residents and staff at increased risk for contracting contagious, vaccine-preventable illnesses. Yet immunization rates among both residents and staff of PALTC settings remain below the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations.