COVID-19 Vaccination
Vaccines are the best tool we have to prevent people from getting seriously ill and being hospitalized from COVID-19. Following are resources to help nursing homes effectively communicate about vaccines, implement a vaccination program, and track vaccinations of residents and staff.
Invest in Trust: A Guide for Building COVID-19 Vaccine Trust and Increasing Vaccination Rates Among CNAs
This guide is designed to help nursing home leaders build COVID-19 vaccine confidence among CNAs and overcome barriers to vaccination by applying insights from social, behavioral and cognitive science.
Learning Guide for Leadership—Strategies To Increase Nursing Home Staff Confidence in the COVID-19 Vaccines (PDF, 576 KB)
This guide assists nursing home facility leadership with having effective one-on-one conversations with staff on vaccines and delivering a standardized curriculum to help raise staff awareness of accurate information about the COVID-19 vaccines.
Take Your Best Shot—Presenting Facts and Addressing Misinformation To Increase Nursing Home Staff Confidence in the COVID-19 Vaccines (PDF, 949 KB)
This organized curriculum and step-by-step facilitator guide presents fact-based information in a 10-minute module format to nursing home staff on the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines.
8 Principles of COVID-19 Vaccine Communications
These videos are intended to assist nursing homes in overcoming vaccine hesitancy with their staff, residents, and family members.
COVID-19 Vaccinations—Perspectives from a Nursing Home CNA
In this video a certified nursing assistant shares her personal story of overcoming vaccine-related fears, deciding to take the vaccine, and encouraging her colleagues to do the same.
Implementing a Staff Vaccination Program in Your Nursing Home (PDF, 315 KB)
This guide outlines the steps nursing home leaders can take to prepare for, develop, and implement a staff vaccination plan. It includes considerations for discussing vaccine information with staff as well as ongoing safety protocols.
Intramuscular Injections—Best Practices for Safe Vaccine Administration in Nursing Homes
This resource provides nursing home clinicians with an easy-to-use guide that outlines steps to safely and correctly administer an intramuscular injection, like the COVID-19, flu, pneumonia, and shingles vaccines.
Vaccination and Testing Learning Modules
This series of two learning modules focuses on considerations for when to test residents for COVID-19 and how the COVID-19 vaccine can protect nursing home staff and residents.
These resources enable nursing home staff to track and trend COVID-19 vaccine administration data, including boosters, for both residents and staff. The tools support efficient collection of information on vaccination rates and support the coordination of next doses and identification of vaccine hesitancy. Additionally, these resources can aid in data compilation and accuracy in reporting to CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network.
- COVID-19 Vaccination Tracking Tool for Use in Nursing Homes (ZIP, 538 KB)
This pre-programmed Excel workbook compiles resident and staff COVID-19 vaccination information, including additional primary doses and boosters, to allow staff to regularly identify trends, rates and coverage gaps in the nursing home's COVID-19 vaccination program. The file was last updated in July 2022 and does not include additional boosters beyond that time. Persons with disabilities experiencing problems accessing the content in the Excel file should contact Karen Fleming-Michael (301–427–1798, karen.flemingmichael@ahrq.hhs.gov) and ask for assistance. A team member will provide written or verbal guidance on the purpose of each tab in the tracker and how to use the tracker.
User Guide: COVID-19 Vaccination Tracking Tool for Use in Skilled Nursing Facilities (PDF, 1.3 MB)
This guide provides detailed, step-by-step instructions and visuals to record, analyze and review resident and staff COVID-19 vaccination data using the COVID-19 Vaccination Tracking Tool. - Resident COVID-19 Vaccine Administration Record (Word, 92 KB)
This one-page record-keeping tool allows nursing home staff to collect information on every resident who is offered the COVID-19 vaccine, including the vaccine manufacturer, additional primary dose and booster shots, dates each shot is administered, adverse reactions, and whether the resident declined the vaccine. The Word file also allows facilities to insert their logo on the form. The document was last updated in May 2022 and does not include additional recommended boosters beyond that time.
Instructions for Resident COVID-19 Vaccine Administration Record (PDF, 307 KB)
These instructions guide nursing home staff on how to enter the information requested in the Resident Vaccine Administration Record for COVID-19. - Staff COVID-19 Vaccine Administration Record (Word, 92 KB)
This one-page recordkeeping tool allows nursing home administration to collect information on every staff member who is offered the COVID-19 vaccine, including the vaccine manufacturer, additional primary dose and booster shots, dates each shot is administered, adverse reactions, and whether the staff member declined the vaccine. The Word file also allows facilities to insert their logo on the form. The document was last updated in May 2022 and does not include additional recommended boosters beyond that time.
Instructions for Staff COVID-19 Vaccine Administration Record (PDF, 328 KB)
These instructions guide nursing home staff on how to enter the information requested in the Staff COVID-19 Vaccine Administration Record.