Nearly half of all nursing home workers in Orange Country remain unvaccinated, according to newly released data by the state.

They were among the first group to be offered the vaccine, but months later, 50% of all nursing home workers in the county remain unvaccinated by choice, according to New York state.

"There's not really an incentive in the nursing home to get the vaccine. We still have to get swabbed twice a week whether you're vaccinated or not, and we still have to wear all the protective PPE," says Faith Levesque, administrator at Highland Rehab and Nursing Center.

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Levesque says there are many reasons for vaccine hesitancy among workers in the nursing home industry, including pregnancy, health concerns and overall questions about how quickly the vaccine was produced. 


"We had less than half, about 35-40% vaccinated but over the past month or so, a lot more have been getting the vaccine," she says.


The numbers seem to mirror those statewide among other groups. 


State data shows that almost 56% of New Yorkers remain unvaccinated, despite ongoing and unprecedented efforts to end the pandemic.