Over half of Monmouth, Ocean nursing homes have COVID outbreaks; most staff unboosted

More than half of Monmouth and Ocean county nursing homes have ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks that have resulted in in 65 deaths since the current outbreaks began, in some cases more than a year ago. That is according to the New Jersey Department of Health, in a sign that the virus remains a danger three years after the pandemic started.

Despite caring for a particularly vulnerable population, less than a quarter of the long-term care facilities' staff in the two counties have been vaccinated with the latest shot, known as the bivalent booster, increasing the risk to the centers' residents, experts said.

"These are very often medically vulnerable individuals, and so they're not only more susceptible to COVID but also being symptomatic and having more severe cases," said Stephanie Silvera, a public health professor at Montclair State University. "What's very interesting to me, if you look at the map and where the cases are currently highest, and then you look at something like the bivalent booster rates, those will be matched up, unfortunately."

New Jersey long-term-care centers have been among the hardest hit locations during the pandemic, with the combination of seniors living in group housing and employees coming and going particularly deadly. Some 9,125 residents and 139 staff members statewide have died of COVID-19 the past three years, according to the Health Department's database.

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The Shore was hit disproportionately hard. Ocean County nursing homes had the second-most deaths statewide, even though the county has the fifth-biggest population. Monmouth County, with the sixth-biggest population, had the third-most deaths.

While the latest outbreaks have been less virulent, the data show nursing homes continue to struggle finding a balance between protecting residents from the virus and easing restrictions both on outside visits from family members and mandates for vaccinations.

For an outbreak to be concluded, nursing homes need to show they haven't had a COVID case involving at least one resident or three staff members within the past 28 days.

It means some facilities, despite being COVID-free for weeks at a time, have technically been in the midst of an outbreak for more than a year — even as cases overall have been on the downswing. On Wednesday, the state reported 411 new probable COVID cases statewide, down from about 1,000 a month ago.

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'The booster has not been mandated'

Among them is Jersey Shore Center in Eatontown, which has had three outbreaks since the pandemic began. The latest started Nov. 24, 2021, and has infected 148 residents and 128 staff members. Five residents have died, according to state data.

Stamping out the disease has proven to be tricky. The center didn't have any cases at the end of January, but the virus picked up again in mid February, when it identified another case. Since then, 59 residents and 10 staff members tested positive, said Lori Mayer, a spokesperson for Jersey Shore Center, adding the safety of its residents and staff is its top priority.

Meanwhile, the center reported 23.8% of its staff had received the bivalent booster shot, which is designed to provide protection against both the original COVID virus strain and a variant of the initial strain.

"The original vaccine mandate came from the federal government/CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) and is for all health care professionals," Mayer said in a statement. "The booster has not been mandated. We encourage all patients, residents and staff through education and reminders to regularly update their vaccines including the COVID-19 booster."

As of March 6, the number of COVID cases had fallen to 30 residents and 2 staff members, Mayer said.

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Jersey Shore Center isn't alone. Seabrook Village Continuing Care in Tinton Falls has had 137 residents and 129 staff members diagnosed with COVID, while three residents have died, in an active outbreak that began Nov. 10, 2021. Nearly 24% of its staff has received the bivalent booster, according to state data.

In Ocean County, Willow Springs Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center in Brick reported 117 residents and 55 staff members diagnosed with COVID, while three residents have died, in an active outbreak that began April 29, 2022. About 9.7% of its staff has received the bivalent booster, state data shows.

A spokesperson for Seabrook declined to comment.

Eli Rosenblum, administrator for Willow Springs, said in a statement: “At Willow Springs, we are diligent regarding broad-based COVID testing, which has proven beneficial by enabling us to provide prompt interventions. Our most recent COVID positive cases date to mid-February; as of March 15, there are no cases within our facility. We remain focused on health and safety of our residents, and are grateful for all that has been learned over the past three years regarding protocols for prevention and treatment. Regarding our staff vaccination rate, 90% of Willow Springs staff are boosted, and we provide ongoing education on the benefits of additional boosters.”

All told:

• COVID remains a threat. Some 63 long-term-care facilities in Monmouth and Ocean counties, about 55% of the Shore's total number of centers, have ongoing COVID outbreaks, infecting 2,215 residents and 1,446 staff members, according to state data.

• The active outbreaks are less deadly. About 3% of residents recently diagnosed with COVID-19 have died in Monmouth and Ocean counties. By comparison, 12.4% of residents with COVID in the two counties during the past three years died, according to state data.

• Staff vaccination rates are low. About 20.2% of nursing home staff in Monmouth County and 17.2% in Ocean County have received the bivalent booster shot. By comparison, 19.1% of staff statewide have received the booster shot, the state said.

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New Jersey prioritized nursing homes and their staff when COVID vaccines were first made available in December 2020. An executive order by the Biden administration in August 2021 mandated nursing home staff get vaccinated if companies wanted to continue to participate in Medicare and Medicaid programs.

More than 94% of the staff in New Jersey was vaccinated, according to state data.

The vaccine isn't without temporary side effects, such as arm pain, chills and fever, but it has been shown to protect against the most serious threats of the illness. Meanwhile, its immunity wanes over time, prompting health experts to recommend staying up-to-date with boosters.

The government, however, hasn't made the latest booster shots mandatory on an industry that already is struggling to hire workers. At the same time, it has eased restrictions on visits from family members, noting isolation for nursing home residents carries its own health risks.

"We think nursing homes have to be prioritizing steps to get these vaccination rates up to date, including boosters," said Katie York, associate state director of advocacy for New Jersey AARP, "because the rates are very low, which is worrisome in the face of continued outbreaks."

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'I'm knocking on wood'

Not every nursing home has struggled to vaccinate its workers. Millennium Memory Care, which has centers in Holmdel, Freehold Township, Ocean Township, Matawan and Monroe, reported that all of its 100 employees have received the bivalent booster.

Galina Markovich, the company's co-founder, is a nurse practitioner who said she has hosted employee meetings and brought pharmacists on site to provide vaccines. The centers don't have an active outbreak.

"It's very hard to say, I don't know, but since we got vaccinations — I mean I'm knocking on wood — we haven't had any serious cases," Markovich said. "I don't know in general if (it's because) the virus became weak or the vaccinations. I'm not sure. But the main thing is since we got vaccines, we don't have any COVID."

To Silvera at Montclair State, the low vaccination rate is the latest example of what has been the nation's ongoing tension between its traditional beliefs of individual liberty and a contagious disease that requires a public response.

Three years after the pandemic began, she said, the high peaks haven't been as high, but the troughs haven't been as low.

"There's a certain number of cases that we're expecting to see, but it is actually quite a bit higher than we would like for it to be," she said. "And I think what that means is that for people who are more medically vulnerable, whether they're in long-term care facilities or out living in the community, it makes their lives a lot harder because we do still have a lot of viral infection that is circulating."

Michael L. Diamond is a business reporter who has been writing about the New Jersey economy and health care industry for more than 20 years. He can be reached at mdiamond@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Half of Monmouth, Ocean nursing homes have COVID outbreaks