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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Long-term care facilities and nursing home staff will soon be required to be fully vaccinated under President Joe Biden's announcement last but some health officials in the state say the mandate is a bad idea.

The Missouri Health Care Association is telling lawmakers they support vaccination, but they don't support a mandate for staff.

"The vaccine hesitancy across the state, especially among the younger populations in our staff is something that we not been able to overcover," executive director for the Missouri Health Care Association Nikki Strong said.

"We don't believe a straightforward mandate is the appropriate way to achieve full vaccination in our facilities."

The association represents more than 65% of 500 nursing care facilities in the state. Strong told members of House Subcommittee on Appropriations - Health, Mental Health, and Social Services Tuesday afternoon some staff is threatening to quit if the mandate is enforced.

"She said to me, I will leave," Strong said about an employee. "I love long-term care, but I will leave long-term care and I will go into another, a completely different sector."

She said nursing facilities had extreme staff shortages before COVID and have worsened since the pandemic.

"We have lost a tremendous amount of staff due to exhaustion levels, burnout, stress, anxiety or in some cases, people that can stay home and make more money staying home than they can in our facility," Strong said.

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