(Bloomberg)—Can a little pill cure the troubles of some nursing homes?
One analyst thinks it can go a long way toward repairing the damage the pandemic wreaked on the senior housing sector, which includes a range of facilities from independent living to full-time care. Covid tore through nursing homes early in the pandemic and the facilities are now grappling with staffing and supply shortages along with reluctance from potential residents.
Pfizer Inc.’s recently approved Paxlovid pill is a “sizable positive” for senior housing, Deutsche Bank analyst Derek Johnston wrote in a note this week, and will help address the labor issues that have plagued facilities. The treatment, along with new shorter isolation guidelines, could make higher labor costs “transitory,” he said.
Nursing homes face other challenges, including a move to more care at home, and what could be continued qualms about living in densely-packed settings. And not everyone believes health-care facilities will be able to cut labor costs.
“People need to accept when they’re looking at their projections to factor in the new costs of running these different types of health-care facilities,” said Felicia Gerber Perlman, who heads the restructuring group at law firm McDermott Will & Emery.
--With assistance from Will Daley.