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Gingerroot2 Asked February 2022

COVID vaccines and rehab: thoughts?

My 91-yr-old mother was in the hospital this week and isn’t vaccinated. She needs PT and is weak. No facility will admit her without a vaccine and booster. This all seems logical, but it will be months to get the two shots (J&J not available near by) AND a booster.


I don’t quite understand why the two shots aren’t sufficient to get her into a facility or AL and then, give her the booster when the time period is appropriate. Thoughts?

Labs4me Mar 2022
The vaccination is a personal choice. Choices do come with consequences both good and bad. Some people choose to play it safe and get vaccinated. Choices do not surpass medical facility requirements.

Llamalover47 Mar 2022
OP states further down this thread that her mother has had her first shot.

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Maggie61r Mar 2022
I don't know the living situation with your mother, but can she have rehab come into her home? Can a relative stay with her at home and provide the basics (cooking, bathing, etc.) and have in-home PT and nurses stop by? My mom came home after a fall & break and we had the visits of PT, OT, and nurses, but she also lives with me, so I was able to do the cooking, cleaning, etc. It was covered by Medicare.

It may not apply in your situation, but hopefully it's an option for you.

Taarna Mar 2022
ALFs and SNFs are trying to keep COVID infections down. Yes, people are getting admitted to hospitals from ALFs and SNFs with COVID infections. (I work on a COVID unit in a hospital.) It is about keeping everybody healthy and safe. Sorry the timing is difficult.

Llamalover47 Mar 2022
Gingerroot2: I cannot see which state or locality that you reside in as it is missing from your profile, else I would have done a google search. Prayers sent.

Erikka Mar 2022
I worked my county health dept Covid hotline.

It’s 3 weeks (Pfizer) or 4 weeks (Moderna) between the first and second dose. When those 2 vaccines are given, they are considered highly effective but that effectiveness degrades over time (the booster is a minimum of 6 months later). Apply logic: A person vaccinated in Jan 2021 with no booster isn’t well protected in March 2022 but a person (let’s say your mom) vaccinated in March 2022 is highly protected even without the booster.

Explain the logic to the PT group. They should understand this and be willing to waive the booster requirement. You should be able to get her in PT in 3 weeks & it might take that long to get an appointment.

She was eligible for vaccination as a first priority group in early 2021. Unfortunately inaction has consequences. To “jab” anti-vaxxers, the elderly & vulnerable are high risk and the elderly and vulnerable often need physical therapy.
Gingerroot2 Mar 2022
Thank you for responding. Your experience is very, very helpful!

No question…we should have gotten the vaccine earlier and supplied her with the extra caregivers for a few days, in the event she had side effects and trouble with mobility!
thank you
againx100 Mar 2022
What state are you in? So many states are FINALLY starting to reduce their rules about vaxxing and masking. Maybe you can call corporate for these nursing homes and see if they are getting on board with that or is there is a workaround?

I think that's just horrible that they won't let her in without THREE jabs. My goodness. So sorry.

DrLokvig Mar 2022
Ask her doctor or pharmacist about access to the booster, when and where.

We've had the vaccine available for a year. I cannot help but wonder why on earth she hadn't had her shots sooner.

About the efficacy of the vaccine and related questions, go to the CDC website.
Isthisrealyreal Mar 2022
Why would a jab for a virus, that at the heigth of the pandemic, had a less the 1.5% chance of dying and that includes the high rate of death in NHs, where everyone is at the EOL, be required for anyone that is otherwise healthy?

It has proven to be ineffective and NOBODY knows the actual long-term effect of being pumped full of genetic agents.

This very mandate is why our medical industry is short staffed, because the very people that were subjected to the virus in the beginning have been told to get jabbed or get gone. When those individuals that have been exposed and know more truth about who dies, say no way! Why is everyone pressuring people to be a guinea pig for big pharma?

Its nobodies business who does or doesn't get jabbed.
Octogenarian Mar 2022
Sorry to sound callous, but with "freedom" comes responsibility, and that includes for the life of others. What a shame that she and many others did not get vaccinated. Perhaps you can keep her with you, with outside help, until she can go into a facility?

GardenArtist Feb 2022
I got my shots through the local county, but not in the parades that the County Exec orchestrated.   I went to a separate satellite site, got in in a few days, and had excellent service, with minimal exposure to others.

I don't understand the months of waiting unless you're in a remote area.   

Is there a reason you want the J&J shot?    I wouldn't even consider it when I made my selection, given the CEO's position on denial of knowledge that J&J talcum powder contained asbestos.  And no way would I EVER use J&J products again.  I threw out all J&J product that I had.

I got the Pfizer shot, with no reactions, no pain, no nothing except a small bandage. I got it at the satellite county office.

Ask the facilities  (per perhaps the discharge planner, who I assume is dealing with them) if the 2 shots would be sufficient, but also be guided by other advice here on the potential danger of getting shots while already compromised and raise the issue with one of the doctors who's treating her in the hospital.  

I hope you're able to work something out.  I wonder if the facilities are denying admission b/c she's had NO shots, and they're making conclusions she's opposed to them?
Gingerroot2 Mar 2022
Thank you for your reply. We are on our way ….. first shot done and very little side effects.
PeggySue2020 Feb 2022
Hospitals hmedicines or access that no one else has. You tell them she needs to stay there, unsafe discharge, and chances are finding her a J&J is going to be a priority for a hosp.

If she's vaccinated but cannot clinically get a booster for two months, more rehabs than not would probably admit her. Even if all you got was the worst shot out there, you're still about 30 times more protected from death as a senior than an unvaccinated person.
Nokonoko Feb 2022
Requiring someone that is already weak to get any vaccine to the best of my knowledge has never been advisable. Restricting care due to vaccine status should be criminal and never be seen as justifiable.
Isthisrealyreal Feb 2022
Tell the social worker to find a facility that doesn't require jabs, they do exist. Call around yourself, go further away if needed.

Getting this jab when she is already in a weakened physical state is not good medical advice. Have they checked her for antibodies? She could have had an asymptotic case and has natural immunity.

Giving a jab without testing for antibodies is criminal, this is what has caused many over the top immune responses and ended with people dying from side effects.
DrBenshir Mar 2022
The likelihood of a frail elderly person having asymptomatic covid is remote to the extreme. Also, without a medically necessary reason insurance won't pay for antibody testing, which can be expensive. I don't know of any facilities in my state that will let someone unvaccinated in as a patient or employee without a valid reason. On a more productive note, anyone can get vaccinated at any pharmacy. It will be a 3 week wait to get the second shot, but she can be admitted a few days after the second dose making the total wait just over 3 weeks instead of "months".
notgoodenough Feb 2022
If it's just a matter of PT to get her strength back after a hospital stay, why won't the doctor order home-based PT? Each time my mom was discharged from the hospital, home-based PT was a routine part of aftercare.
Tothill Mar 2022
In my community Home Health PTs are nor required to go into the homes of the unvaxxed.
AlvaDeer Feb 2022
My thoughts are that I am terribly sorry your grandmother, clearly in a very endangered group for the virus, was not vaccinated. If you are certain that all rehabs are refusing admittance without a full vaccination status I guess that they have made that decision for their residents, also assumably are also in a endangered group.
I can only offer up my sympathy that this is the case for you. I hope that your posting here on Forum will help to warn others that this could happen to them.
I am hoping for the best for your grandma.
Gingerroot2 Mar 2022
Thanks for your kind words. Learning, learning, learning. This is a great forum!

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