WASHINGTON – U.S. Department of Health Secretary Xavier Becerra will visit Las Vegas Thursday to meet with public health officials to discuss the rise in COVID-19 infections in the state.
Becerra is also expected to meet with Governor Steve Sisolak during the visit, tour a Clark County Fire Department training facility, and learn about a coronavirus surge response team.
The secretary’s visit comes amid rising cases and travel warnings from neighboring California, where he served as attorney general prior to joining the Biden administration.
Becerra is also expected to discuss Nevada’s dismal ranking – the worst of any other state – for vaccination rates among its most vulnerable population, nursing home residents.
The state’s two senators, Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen, earlier this week called on Becerra to concentrate the federal funds approved in the American rescue plan to clear up, inform and make available the shots to protect the elderly.
A study by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ranked Nevada last among the states for vaccinations for nursing home residents at 63 percent. That’s compared to Vermont, which vaccinated 95 percent of those in need of care.
Another analysis by the American Association of Retired Persons found similar vaccination rates among nursing home residents and staff that were lower than the national average and other states.
Meanwhile, Nevada is lagging behind on vaccination among other age groups and demographics, with a recent surge in infections and deaths with the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus.
President Joe Biden has urged federal agencies to send surge teams to states with hot spots, including Las Vegas, to help state officials step up vaccination efforts.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said federal efforts would improve state and local outreach work by clerics, civic leaders and grassroots groups to reach groups who have not yet received vaccinations due to hesitation or access.
In their letter to Becerra, Cortez Masto and Rosen asked his department to inform Nevada nursing homes of the services available. The senators called the nursing home situation “urgent” and unacceptable.
Becerra will address the problem with nursing homes during his trip to Nevada, a congressional aide said.
Becerra will also meet with federal officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as state and local officials participating in the climb effort.
Sisolak will be joining Becerra for his fire department facility tour and a visit to the Sherman Gardens Vaccination Clinic in Las Vegas.
Contact Gary Martin at gmartin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter. Review Journal contributor Glenn Puit contributed to this report.
