Some retirement village providers in the United States are offering COVID-19 vaccinations to try attract new residents into their homes after big drops in occupancy rates in 2020.
After the retirement village sector took a hit from the pandemic some providers are coming up with new ways to reassure prospective residents they are safe, NBC News reported.
Oakmont Senior Living is advertising ‘exclusive access’ to COVID-19 vaccines for its residents and the plan could be working after the company saw a 13% increase in new residents over its January intake.
Dr. Michael Carome, director of health research at consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, is a vocal critic of the idea and said it was unethical to use access to the vaccine as a marketing tool.
The retirement living provider has already started to set up vaccine clinics on a rolling schedule at all of its homes as part of the FDA’s emergency vaccine authorisation.
In the United States, people aged over 65 have accounted for 81.1% (373,428 people) of COVID-19 deaths.
