Key Updates from the Health Center COVID-19 Survey (Week #42): Over a Quarter of a Million Community Health Center Staff Members and Patients Have Received a COVID-19 Vaccine

On January 19, 2021, the U.S. COVID-19 death toll reached 400,000 deaths. Data reported that week from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA’s) weekly Health Center COVID-19 Survey indicate that 269,593 community health center patients were tested for the COVID-19 virus the week of January 15th, 2021, down by more than 56,000 from the 325,986 reported for the week of January 8th. Similarly, the number of health center patients with confirmed infection (39,221) this week was substantially lower than its peak recorded level (55,163) as of January 8th. The number of staff members (1,273) who tested positive for the virus this week was at its lowest recorded level since early November 2020. HRSA began reporting the number of community health center staff and patients who have initiated and completed COVID-19 vaccination as of the week ending January 8th. Over that week and the week ending January 15th, more than 107,000 staff members and 146,000 patients, totaling more than 253,000 in the aggregate, received their first or second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. However, two in three (65 percent) responding health centers reported that vaccine deployment was challenged by supply constraints this current reporting period.The data note is available here.