Summary
- Nursing home residents and the health care personnel who work in nursing homes face higher exposure to influenza, and residents are at higher risk of severe illness. Annual flu vaccination is recommended for both.
- In the 2024–25 season (October 1, 2024–March 31, 2025), 61.3% of residents and 42.1% of personnel were vaccinated — the first comprehensive national measure for residents.
- Vaccination, combined with testing, antiviral treatment and prevention, and infection control, can protect residents and staff.
Why it matters
About 8% of Americans get flu each year. Vaccination lowers the risk of severe flu and hospitalization and can prevent infection among residents, and higher staff vaccination has been linked to fewer resident deaths. Vaccinating staff also cuts absenteeism, which can steady staffing and improve care. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requires nursing homes to report vaccination of personnel (since the 2022–23 season) and, from January 2025, of residents, to CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network.
How it was counted: for staff, everyone who worked at least 1 day in the season, vaccinated only with written proof (medical contraindications, 0.89%, were excluded); for residents, those in the home during the week of March 30, 2025.
Residents
About 1.2 million residents of 13,299 nursing homes: 61.3% vaccinated overall; median facility 67.0%.
| Group | Coverage |
|---|---|
| Government-owned / for-profit | 71.7% / 58.5% |
| Small facilities / medium and large | 65.3% / 60.4% |
| Medicaid only / Medicare and Medicaid / Medicare only | 77% / 61.3% / 58.7% |
| Northeast / Pacific (highest / lowest region) | 67.8% / 55.5% |
States ranged from 33.0% to 80.6%; five reached 75% or more: North Dakota (80.6%), South Dakota (78.6%), the District of Columbia (77.8%), Vermont (76.5%) and New Hampshire (75.0%).
Health care personnel
About 2.1 million personnel in the same homes: 42.1% vaccinated; median facility 35.1% — with a wide spread (16.8%–63.8% between the 25th and 75th percentile facilities).
| Group | Coverage |
|---|---|
| Nonprofit / for-profit homes | 52.6% / 38.3% |
| Small facilities | 44.3% |
| Medicare-only homes | 54.9% |
| Northeast / Midwest (highest / lowest region) | 57.7% / 34.5% |
| Students, trainees and volunteers / employees | 55.4% / 41.4% |
States ranged from 18.2% (Oklahoma) to 91.6% (Maine); four reached 75% or more: Maine, New Jersey (90.7%), Arkansas (88.2%) and Colorado (78.8%).
Flu vaccination coverage by state among nursing home residents and personnel, 2024–25. Figure from the CDC report.
What it means
- Residents were vaccinated less than Americans 75 and older overall (75.6%) — partly from different counting, but perhaps also from barriers peculiar to nursing homes. Long-stay (Medicaid-only) homes did best; short-stay residents may leave before vaccine is offered or have unknown status.
- Staff coverage fell from 45.4% in 2023–24, and remains far below the 80.7% among personnel in acute care hospitals. Hesitancy among nursing home staff has been driven by worries about side effects, effectiveness and need; education, on-site vaccination and recommendations from trusted colleagues can help, as can approaches tailored to each employment type.
- Nursing homes are advised to combine vaccination with flu testing, infection control, and antiviral treatment and chemoprophylaxis (CDC's respiratory virus toolkit).
Limits: staff and resident figures use different denominators and can't be compared directly; requiring written proof may undercount staff vaccinated elsewhere; and facility-level data can't show differences by age or health conditions.
Sources
Based on Jeneita M. Bell, Kira Barbre, Lu Meng and others, "Influenza Vaccination Coverage Among Nursing Home Residents and Health Care Personnel — United States, 2024–25 Influenza Season," MMWR, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; a work of the United States government in the public domain.
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from www.cdc.gov
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