Visiting a Nursing Home for Christmas? Get Vaxxed, Wear a Mask

Monday, December 20th, 2021 -- 1:01 PM

(Bob Hague, WRN) Some advice, if you’re planning a holiday visit to loved ones in a nursing home.

John Sauer is President and CEO of LeadingAge Wisconsin, representing the state’s nursing homes. “The best advice is to be vaccinated. It protects you, it protects those who live and work in nursing homes. Wear a mask and generally just be as safe as you can.”     

Saur says there were 700 COVID-19 deaths in Wisconsin nursing homes through November of 2020 - prior to the advent of vaccines. “A year later, because of the vaccine, it has been reduced to 33.”

Sauer continued, “The presence of the vaccines in nursing homes has been a lifesaver. The number of people dying because of COVID, in Wisconsin nursing homes and I would submit across the country, really has plummeted, because the vaccine is there to protect them.”

“The doors are open. The exceptions would be there may be some limitations, if there’s actually an unexplained outbreak of COVID in the nursing home. But by and large what we’re seeing across the board is visitation policies have been relaxed, as allowed by the federal government.”
     
Sauer also suggests wearing a mask if you’re visiting a nursing home.

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