Effect of state COVID-19 vaccine mandates on staff vaccinations

Editor's Note

This cohort study of nursing homes in 38 states, led by the University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, finds that states with a COVID-19 mandate had an increase in staff vaccinations compared with states with no mandates and no worsening of staffing shortages following the mandates.

States with a mandate and no test-out option had a 6.9% increase in vaccination rates, and states with a mandate and a test out option had a 3.1% increase.

Increases in vaccination rates also were larger in Republican-leaning counties—14.3% if no test-out option and 4.3% with an option.

The findings suggest that state mandates for booster doses could be associated with improved vaccine coverage, even in areas with increased vaccine hesitancy, the authors say.