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As the novel coronavirus rages on across the country, there is hope for the upcoming year. Currently, there are two viable COVID-19 vaccines available to nurses throughout the United States, one produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and the other Moderna. Despite the overwhelming need to vaccinate Tier 1A (or Phase 1) healthcare workers, many travel nurses are left wondering when will it be their turn? An estimated 21 million healthcare workers will be eligible for the first vaccines, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Speak with a recruiter about available assignments in COVID-impacted areas today.
According to data from NurseFly, five states in the U.S. have seen 200% growth in demand for ICU nurses including Delaware, to a whopping 441% increase in Hawaii. This is partially due to continuing rise in COVID-19 cases, staff nurses out for exposure, and bedside nurse burnout. Unfortunately, despite the desperate need for travel nurses and the endless COVID crisis contracts, many travel nurses are finding it impossible to get vaccinated.
Hospitals across the country are getting doses of the vaccine but priority has been to the hospital employees and not contracted travel nurses despite their work location. For example, per diem outpatient clinic nurses are being offered the vaccine over COVID ICU travel nurses. It’s leaving many travel nurses confused and frustrated.
But this isn’t the case for all travel nurses. Some are being offered the vaccine through employers but it’s few and far between. For example, Fastaff travel nurse Maritza B. was one of the first nurses in New Jersey to become vaccinated through her hospital. Stories like this are few and far between.
Despite the ongoing need to vaccinate ALL frontline workers with repeated exposure to COVID, there are numerous barriers to offering the vaccine to travel nurses. These include,
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
The CDC and FDA are encouraging all nurses to receive the vaccination through their employer, but for some this isn’t possible. There are other options for travel nurses. Some of these include but are not limited to:
While not all retail pharmacies across the country have the vaccination as of yet, they are expected to receive the vaccine in the upcoming month. It’s important to call your local pharmacy for additional information.
One of the most important considerations with vaccination is that BOTH vaccines require TWO dosages for effective immunity. You must receive the same second dose as the first. For example, if your first vaccine dose was Pfizer-BioNTech then you must receive a second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech.
Travel nurses across the country are concerned about the possibility of healthcare systems mandating the COVID vaccine. Currently, hospitals and long term care facilities are not mandating the vaccine to employees but there have been discussions of a future vaccine requirement for employment.
This could create numerous problems for travel nurses as vaccine production has not been going as expected according to the FDA and CDC. According to CBS News (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-vaccine-rollout-behind-schedule-delay-millions-doses-short/), the country fell drastically short of an initial pledge to vaccinate 20 million Americans by the end of 2020 — just under 3 million people received the COVID-19 vaccine before the new year.
In addition to travel nurses, there are millions of other front line healthcare providers still waiting to receive the vaccine as well. It’s a waiting game for most nurses at this point. But, as Pfizer and Moderna continue to ship out thousands of doses of their vaccine, travel nurses across the country should begin to have access.
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
We’re well into the new year and we’re about to swear in a new President, but as far as COVID-19 updates go, it seems like more of the same frustrating news. The pandemic continues, with some areas of the country seeing record-high numbers and deaths. LA County, for example, has had so many deaths that they actually had to limit the number of cremations taking place because it was affecting the air quality.
Meanwhile, new variants of the COVID-19 virus continue to pop up and vaccination efforts still lag behind ideal numbers, so it’s hard to say with certainty if a clear end to this fight is yet in sight.
Here are some of the vital updates on COVID-19 for travel nurses and what areas are hiring high-paying positions right now.
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
The numbers for COVID at the moment are definitely alarming. The U.S. passed 400,000 deaths this week and saw an increase of over 4 million infections in the past month alone.
As of January 9th, the most recent complete data available from the CDC shows an overall average increase in infections, illnesses and deaths from COVID after a decline in the previous three weeks. According to their report, many areas and numbers are still catching after the delay from holiday reporting.
NPR’s state tracker shows the top 5 states with the most COVID cases by 100K people are Arizona, California, South Carolina, Rhode Island, and Oklahoma. Tennessee dropped from the list from our last update, replaced with South Carolina. Arizona has a higher infection rate per 100K people, but California is still reporting an astonishing rate of 39,124 new infections every day.
Speak with a recruiter about available assignments in COVID-impacted areas today.
According to the CDC, hospitalizations peaked in December and have appeared to be on the decline, but experts say those numbers may not be fully accurate yet. Any mitigating effects of community efforts or vaccinations will not be reflected in hospitalizations for many months to come. For now, experts are staying cautious about staying ahead of staffing and safety efforts.
All that to say: the need for travel nurses is still high.
Here are some of the highest-paying opportunities for travel nursing right now:
In addition to the high paying 10K positions in Nevada and California, those states also have other opportunities ranging from $7-8K for other positions, such as ER.
Ready to start travel nursing? Start here.
The vaccine situation right now is… well, challenging. Vaccine administration numbers are overall pretty low and reports show that larger-than-expected numbers of healthcare workers continue to refuse the initial rounds of the vaccine.
CDC numbers state that 10.6 million people have received at least one dose of the vaccine and only 1.6 million have been fully vaccinated — primarily nursing home residents (1.4 million). Of the 31 million vaccine doses distributed to states, it’s estimated that only about half of those have been given.
In other vaccine news:
TravelNursing.org has also spoken with travel nurses who have reported significant challenges in getting the COVID-19 vaccine for themselves due to their status as a traveler. Some hospitals are limiting the vaccine to staff nurses, leaving travel nurses on their own to find a way to get the vaccine.
If you are having trouble getting your vaccine through your agency or current contracted hospital, it may be helpful to contact your state or local health department for advice on how to obtain the vaccine.
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
While no one can predict how COVID-19 will continue to change travel nursing — especially with the emergency authorization of two vaccines — for now, the need for travel nurses is continuing to grow. There is an unprecedented need and not enough travel nurses to fill the void. Not only are adult ICU nurses needed but so are OR nurses, pediatric nurses, and medical surgical nurses. This is a very big change from less than a year ago.
In March 2020, COVID-19 ravaged states such as New York and Washington and travel nurses flocked to those hard hit areas to fight on the front lines. But with that, travel nurse contracts in other areas of the country were cancelled and thousands of travel nurses were left unemployed and scrambling to find last minute available contracts. Operating room and pediatric travel nurses were the hardest hit, requiring many to take staff positions at location hospitals or work outside their field of expertise.
Another significant change: travel nurses are needed everywhere. New York needs nurses, California desperately needs nurses, and Texas is begging for nurses. In fact, hard hit rural areas like the midwest and smaller towns have found it impossible to increase their staff as there are increasing numbers of staff nurses becoming infected or placed on quarantine, reducing the number of available staff.
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
Hospitals have long relied on travel nurses to fill staffing gaps, some more than others. Early in the pandemic, healthcare systems were competing for personal protection equipment, ventilators, and ICU beds. Now, there is an ongoing race for nurses, especially ICU nurses to care for the thousands of sick COVID patients. Everyday hundreds of new travel nurse contracts are posted to staffing agency websites, but travel nurses are still finding some roadblocks to starting new contracts.
Some of the contracts are labeled as crisis COVID contracts, which have a high rate of cancellation prior to starting the contract. Additionally, these contracts come with a much higher pay than regular travel nurse contracts; therefore, there is stiffer competition for these positions. Hospitals want “COVID chasers.” Dubbed this for their work as COVID nurses throughout the pandemic, these nurses travel across the country caring for patients in the newest hotspot. COVID chasers have worked day in and day out with the sickest of the sick and are emotionally, mentally, and physically ready for the demand required of them.
Unfortunately, crisis contracts are scary despite the extremely high demand. Why are they risky? When a hospital or location needs nurses quickly, they often overhire because they are aware that not everyone hired will complete the requirements prior to the start date. Plus, it is possible that not everyone will test negative for coronavirus. There are no penalties for the hospital when canceling a crisis contract except for a few nominal costs/fees. For that reason, hospitals often will work with multiple agencies in order to secure the appropriate number of nurses. Furthermore, during a crisis, the patient census can change day to day. It’s possible that by the time additional staff arrive, the patient census will not require it. This was mostly seen in New York City at the onset of the pandemic.
Right now, there is a bidding war for certain travel nurses. The reason? There truly aren’t enough travel nurses for all the needs and hospitals want staff that can jump right in. Hospitals want staff that do not need much training, can handle patients with a variety of illnesses, and have flexible availability. Those that had crisis contracts cancelled in the past are not finding the same issue right now. Even travel nurses that do not have the skill set to care for COVID patients are in demand throughout the country.
Speak with a recruiter about available assignments in COVID-impacted areas today.
With thousands of open travel nurse contracts across the United States, healthcare systems are left wondering how to fill the gaps and where the nurses are. As previously mentioned, at the height of the pandemic many travel nurses actually took staff positions because of the job security including health benefits. A great deal of these nurses have remained staff nurses and left the voids. Other staff nurses are hesitant to become travel nurses because of the uncertainty.
Currently, Aya Healthcare boosts almost 4,000 open Emergency Room nursing positions throughout the country. Travel Nurse Across America staffing agency has requests up over 175% from previous years.
The abundance of travel nursing positions will continue to rise as COVID continues to grapple the nation. Experts do not expect to see relief on the frontlines for months. Travel nurses can expect to have additional opportunities in the upcoming months.
Ready to start travel nursing? Start here.
From post-holiday numbers to travel nurse opportunities to the latest on the vaccine, here are the new year COVID updates for travel nurses.
With reports of a COVID-19 variant spreading across the globe, some countries, like the UK and Germany, have imposed fresh–and strict–lockdowns. In the U.S., the new variant has been detected and may even be to blame for California’s current staggering outbreak, but the new strain has not led to new lockdowns here in the states yet.
However, many states, California, included, are feeling the post-holiday infection strain. Airlines recorded yearly and pandemic travel numbers, albeit still much lower than pre-epidemic levels, over the holidays and while numbers still continue to get caught up, it’s clear at least some of the new cases can be attributed to holiday gatherings.
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
As of January 5th, the CDC is reporting close to 21 million COVID infections and over 352,000 deaths from COVID in the U.S. The average daily case rate per 10,000 people in the last week is 64.5K.
The top 5 states with the most COVID cases by 100K people are Arizonna, California, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Oklahamo. NPR’s state tracker lists California as a current hot spot with unchecked community spread of the virus –– the state is reporting close to 38,000 new infections every single day. The next highest state is Arizona, which is reporting an average of 8,160 new infections daily.
According to the CDC’s weekly update on COVID, the latest data is from the week of Christmas and it showed a slight decrease in both the number of overall new infections and hospitalizations from COVID, although the CDC also notes that those decreases are more than likely due to a delay in reporting due to the holidays and that an increase is predicted. Additionally, there were a few regions, such as New Jersey/New York/Puerto Rico, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, South Central, and Central that did see an increase in positive COVID tests in the last reported week.
Speak with a recruiter about available assignments in COVID-impacted areas today.
According to the CDC, hospitalizations peaked in November and have either declined or plateaued. However, the CDC fully expects those numbers — especially with post-holiday season infections coming into effect — to start to increase again. Deaths related to pneumonia, influenza and COVID are also slightly on the decline as well, although again, the CDC is expecting them to rise again. California has been especially hard hit and hospitals in the Southern California region have reported the dreaded 0% ICU capacity.
The combination of healthcare staff burnout, staff getting sick or quarantined continues to lead to a high need for travel nurses who are willing to take on COVID assignments. Here are some of the highest-paying opportunities for travel nursing right now:
In addition to the high paying 10K positions in Nevada and California, those states also have other opportunities ranging from $7-8K for other positions, such as ER.
Ready to start travel nursing? Start here.
Since the rollout of the vaccine, statewide administration has been slower than expected in many areas. So far, about 4.8 million people in the U.S. have received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the New York Times. The federal government has stated that it’s delivered a total of 17 million doses to states, so there still remains a lot of vaccines to be given. (Although the vaccine does have to be given in two separate doses.)
There has also been some vaccine hesitancy reported among healthcare workers and some on the frontlines have refused the vaccine all together. For instance, Michigan has reported thousands of refusals among its healthcare workers, potentially contributing to having one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country. So far, the areas with the highest percentage of vaccinations given are the Northern Mariana Islands and South Dakota, with vaccination rates of 5.7% and 3.2%, respectively.
TravelNursing.org has also spoken with travel nurses who have reported significant challenges in getting the COVID-19 vaccine for themselves due to their status as a traveler. Some hospitals are administering the vaccine only to staff nurses and not travelers, leaving travel nurses on their own to find a way to get the vaccine. If you are having trouble getting your vaccine through your agency or current contracted hospital, it may be helpful to contact your state or local health department for advice on how to obtain the vaccine.
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
As we head into the new year, some states, like Michigan, have loosened some restrictions after reporting a decrease in new COVID-19 cases, while others, like California, continue to report hospitals at capacity and healthcare staff at their breaking point.
Airlines are recording records of travelers already — a million per day for at least three days in a row — and while it’s thought that many people in the U.S. heeded advice about staying home for Thanksgiving, experts aren’t sure if Christmas and the holiday season will show the same.
Here’s what travel nurses should know about COVID this week.
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
As of Monday evening, the CDC is reporting 17,790,376 cases (197,616 of those new), and 316,844 deaths (1,584 of those new) from COVID in the U.S.
The top 5 states with the most COVID cases by 100K people are Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, California, and Rhode Island. NPR’s state tracker also lists Arizona as a current hot spot with unchecked community spread of the virus. There’s also been some concern over a new variant strain of COVID-19 that has been discovered in the UK, although travel hasn’t been banned from the US to the UK as of yet.
Ready to start travel nursing? Start here.
According to the CDC, hospitalizations peaked in November and have declined. However, the CDC fully expects those numbers — especially with holiday season in full swing — to start to increase again. Deaths related to pneumonia, influenza and COVID are also slightly on the decline as well, although again, the CDC is expecting them to rise again. As of Monday, 1/5 of hospitals with ICUs report that they are at 95% capacity, says the New York Times.
Speak with a recruiter about available assignments in COVID-impacted areas today.
The combination of healthcare staff burnout, staff getting sick or quarantined and the holiday season when staff may have already had scheduled time off, there continues to be a high need for travel nurses who are willing to take on COVID assignments. Here are some of the highest-paying opportunities for travel nursing right now:
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
There’s also been some big movement on the COVID-19 vaccine. Many prominent public officials, including Mike Pence and President-Elect Joe Biden, who received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine live on television on Monday, Monday December 21st. Allergic reactions are also being closely monitored — so far, the CDC is reviewing a total of 6 allergic reactions to the Pfizer Biotech vaccine have been reported.
What does that mean for healthcare workers with allergies? Well, the CDC recommends that if you have had a severe allergic reaction to any ingredient in the COVID-19 vaccine, you should not get the vaccine. If you have a history of severe allergic reactions that aren’t related to vaccines or injectable medications, however—such as allergies to food, pet, venom, environmental, or latex — you may still get vaccinated. People with a history of allergies to some medications taken by mouth may also still get vaccinated. Talk to your doctor about your own health history.
The second COVID-19 vaccine, by Moderna, was also approved and began arriving in states across the country on Monday. The two vaccines are very similar and both must be given in 2 doses, but the Moderna has the practical advantage of not needing dry ice temperatures before administration. If you’re a frontline healthcare worker and on a travel nursing assignment, be sure to speak with your agency about when you can get the vaccine. And if you’re able to get that vaccine, be sure to hold onto your vaccine card — you never know when it might come in handy.
Ready to start travel nursing? Start here.
Here are the latest COVID updates for travel nurses as the holidays approach and there is a lot of uncertainty about what the rest of the year will hold for COVID cases in the U.S. Day after day, we are hearing about record-breaking new infections, hospitals reaching peak capacity and public officials scrambling to figure out what is best for their communities. As of right now, the U.S. has surpassed 12 million cases of COVID and 253,600 deaths and counting, per the CDC.
A lot of the decisions that people are making now will continue to affect how the virus spreads, but here’s what we know about COVID as we head into Thanksgiving week.
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
The CDC’s COVID tracker shows that the majority of cases, hospitalizations and deaths are largely concentrated in the Midwest in states like Wyoming, Minnesota, the Dakotas, Utah, Iowa, and Montana. But almost every single state in the country is seeing an increase of both infections, hospitalizations and deaths. Aside from a handful of states, NPR’s daily state case tracker highlights that there is “unchecked community spread” across the entire U.S.
And while with our last update, there was somewhat of a plateau in deaths, as predicted, the hospitalizations and deaths have finally caught up to the numbers. Across the board, new COVID infections, hospitaliations, and deaths are increasing.
Ready to start travel nursing? Start here.
We won’t sugar coat it: what’s happening with hospitals in many states in the U.S. is not pretty.
The country currently has more patients hospitalized with COVID than ever before, including during case peaks in the spring. Larger cities are facing an influx of patients, but what makes this surge of coronavirus even more frightening is that, as predicted, rural areas are now running up against their healthcare facility capacity.
Rural areas with hospitals that may only have a handful of ICU beds to begin with are being forced to send critically ill patients to other, larger hospitals. But even those hospitals are filling up — and there aren’t enough healthcare staff to keep up. A combination of infections and quarantines along with burnout and fatigue, mean many hospitals are facing dire staffing shortages.
There are nationwide shortages of healthcare workers, even as COVID cases continue to surge. According to data from the Department of Human and Health Services given to Atlantic staff, 22% of hospitals in the U.S. are reporting staff shortages. In some areas of rural America, in fact, the situation is so dire that hospitals are begging the public for help. Goshen Health in Indiana, for instance, put out a public plea on Facebook asking for anyone with a healthcare background or medical training to help them get through their current crisis. As past data has shown, the trend for COVID tends to follow a predictable pattern: an increase in cases means an increase in hospitalizations two weeks later. And that means, with COVID infections increasing daily, hospital needs and staffing shortages are likely to only increase in the coming weeks.
Speak with a recruiter about available assignments in COVID-impacted areas today.
The sudden surge of COVID cases in combination with healthcare staff themselves being sick or quarantined has led to a huge increase in the demand for travel nurses. As some sources are reporting, the demand for travel nurses is unparalleled and hospitals are paying some of the steepest rates ever seen.
ICU travel nurse positions are especially in demand and overall rates for travel nurse wages are up nearly 28%, according to NurseFly. Some hospitals have had to convert non-ICU floors to ICUs to keep up with the patient surge and need trained staff who can work in an ICU setting.
Frankly, travel nursing rates are the highest in years. And while that may be a good thing for any travel nurses looking to build income, it bodes badly for hospitals. Currently, based on researching travel nursing job boards, the states and positions with the highest pay rates are:
Pennsylvania: over $8K/weekly for ICU
Maryland: over $8K/weekly for ICU
North Dakota: over $8K/weekly for ICU
New Mexico: over $7K/weekly for ICU, Telemetry and Med/Surg
Minnesota: over $7K/weekly for ICU
Texas: $7K/weekly for ICU
Michigan, Montana, Oregon, Wisconsin: Between $5-6K/weekly for ICU, Med/Surg and Telemetry
Health experts across the board are predicting patient numbers will only increase as year end approaches and in combination with pre-scheduled staff time off for the holidays, cold weather and indoor gatherings, chances are that hospitals will continue to rely on travel nurses to staff their facilities.
So, if you’re interested in taking a short-term travel nursing position and are willing to work a COVID unit, there has never been a more lucrative time to take a travel nursing position than right now.
Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.
The upcoming flu season has the potential to be one of the most important and potentially deadliest in recent history because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
With COVID case numbers on the rise across the country, preparing for this winter is even more important than ever. There is an ever-increasing need to reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses and a push for vaccination. It’s interesting to note that most healthcare systems are not currently accepting flu vaccine waivers and are requiring all employees to receive a flu vaccine.
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While impossible to determine how severe the flu season will be, coupled with the ongoing pandemic, travel nursing could very likely be affected again. During the first wave of the pandemic, hospitals stopped all elective surgeries and saw a decrease in inpatient hospitalizations. Travel nursing was more or less halted since March.
Thousands of travel nurses across the country were laid off and contracts were canceled. COVID-19 hotspots brought in crisis travel nurses for temporary assignments while staff nurses throughout the country were without work.
It’s impossible to determine exactly how COVID and the flu season will continue to affect travel nursing but it is safe to say travel nurses will continue to adapt to the ever-changing environment. With so many unknowns, it is essential that travel nurses secure assignments as soon as possible. It is harder for a hospital to cancel a contract once it has started than to cancel a contract that hasn’t started yet.
Speak with a recruiter about assignments in COVID-impacted areas.
Hospitals have learned from the first COVID surge the resources needed to survive another wave of COVID. Healthcare systems are taking into account flu season as well to determine the needs of the different units. Anticipated needs are currently driving the openings for travel nurses and they will fill quickly. Travel nurses can expect to see shorter length contracts, for 6 or 8 weeks, versus the traditional 13-week contracts. Furthermore, hospitals are currently less likely to extend contracts early as needs are constantly changing. Travel nurses are not only filling the void to cover the influx of sick patients but also to fill gaps in staffing when permanent staff are out sick or on quarantine.
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In order for travel nurses to continue to find assignments, it is important more than ever to prevent getting sick or spreading germs to others. These recommendations are more important than ever due to COVID-19 and the upcoming flu season. The CDC recommends nurses and their patients:
The aftermath of this pandemic and flu season will only continue to highlight the need for nurses and the predicted shortage. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing predicts that there will be a need for 203,700 new nurses each year through 2026. This figure was determined before the pandemic and the stress COVID and the flu season are taking on healthcare providers. Travel nurses will continue to fill these needs.
