Coronavirus Watch: Hospitals, nursing homes brace for staff shortages

Hospitals and nursing homes around the U.S. are bracing for worsening staff shortages as state deadlines arrive for health care workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

With ultimatums taking effect this week in states such as New York, California, Rhode Island and Connecticut, the fear is that some employees will quit or let themselves be fired or suspended rather than get the vaccine.

“We are concerned about how it will exacerbate an already quite serious staffing problem,” said California Hospital Association spokesperson Jan Emerson-Shea.

It's Tuesday, and this is Coronavirus Watch from the USA TODAY Network. Here's more news you need to know.

• New York Gov. Kathy Hochulsigned an executive order late Monday to expand the pool of eligible health care workers. Retirees will be allowed to more easily re-enter the workforce and the pool of staff who can administer COVID-19 testing and vaccinations will be expanded.
• Pfizer and BioNTech said they submitted data from a clinical trial of their COVID-19 vaccine in children ages 5 to 11 to the FDA. The companies plan to submit a request for emergency use authorization of the vaccine in young children after data showed it is safe and effective at one-third the dose used in adolescents and adults.
• The rising number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has placed a new burden on northeast Ohio hospitals, whose leaders say they are facing a shortage of beds and lengthy wait times for emergency care.
• A federal judge on Monday ordered that all employees entering California prisons be vaccinated or have a religious or medical exemption. An outbreak last year killed 28 inmates and a correctional officer at San Quentin State Prison.

Today's numbers: The U.S. has reported more than 42.9 million COVID-19 cases and 688,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, there have been more than 231.9 million cases and more than 4.7 million deaths. About 64% of people in the U.S. have received at least one vaccine shot, and about 55% are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. Among U.S. adults, 77% have received at least one shot, and about 67% are fully vaccinated.

Tracking the pandemic: See the numbers in your area here. See where cases are rising here. See vaccination rates here. And here, compare vaccinations rates worldwide and see which countries are using which vaccines.

– Grace Hauck, USA TODAY breaking news reporter, @grace_hauck