Residents and workers in nursing homes have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to an article in the New England Journal of Medicine published on Wednesday, vaccinating more employees appears to be the key to preventing transmission in these environments.

The researchers reviewed the 10-week COVID-19 case rate and death toll this summer, and concluded that if more workers were vaccinated against the virus, 4,775 infections and 703 infections could be avoided during this time. Cases died.They reported their findings in a report letter To the editor of the journal.

Researchers found that nursing homes with the lowest employee vaccination rates had more than twice the number of COVID-19 cases than nursing homes with the highest employee vaccination rates, and the number of residents died nearly three times as many.

Studies have shown that if the ratio of facilities with lower levels of vaccinations for all employees matches the best-performing locations, 29% of residents’ COVID-19 cases and 48% of COVID-19 cases recorded between June 13 and August 22 Death could have been avoided.

“The results are clear. It is important for staff to be vaccinated. Even if your residents as a group have received a lot of vaccines and you have additional measures, such as requiring masks and surveillance tests, it is also very important,” New York University professor Brei Said Brian McGarry. Geriatrics and Aging at the University of Rochester is also one of the authors of the paper.