A recent SARS-CoV-2 outbreak at the Geer Village Senior Community Senior living with options for your loved ones in all stages of aging. (geercares.org) in Canaan, Connecticut led to eight (8) deaths and nearly 100 residents infected with COVID-19 at this nursing home and rehabilitation center. More specifically, in addition to the eight deaths, 67 residents and 22 staff members became infected with SAR-CoV-2 sometime over the 30 to 45 days. Thus far, 48 residents and 21 staff have recovered. Noteworthy, of the total 89 infections 87 were vaccinated, meaning nearly 98% of the cases are breakthrough infections. Now, the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) continues to monitor the situation closely including on-site consultation. Booster vaccines are now considered essential due to the combination of vaccine durability issues (e.g. waning effectiveness), stronger variants in combination with a high-risk population.
The elderly are the most vulnerable to COVID-19 and nursing homes were scenes of tragedy during the pandemic. According to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), 186,000 nursing home residents and staff died during this pandemic. Given many residents received their second jab months ago this population is at risk.
TrialSite’s founder Daniel O’Connor declared, “We have followed numerous studies indicating these vaccines effectiveness wane after a handful of months, meaning that high-risk groups such as the elderly in nursing homes should get booster shots.” O’Connor continued, “It’s an absolute tragedy what happened to our elderly population during this pandemic and this population must be proactively cared for.”
Precautions in Place?
According to local media NBC Connecticut, Kevin O’Connell, CEO of Geer Village Senior Community, declared in a statement, “Despite the highly infectious nature of this disease, our employees were able to protect their residents, themselves, and their families through the initial peak of this pandemic. They did this during a time when we least understood Covid-19 and struggled to find the supplies and funding to persevere as the virus spread. We are tremendously proud of our employees for their dedication to the people we care for.”
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However, eight people have died and 87 of the 89 cases happened to be breakthrough cases. This means that the residents aren’t getting their booster shots in time to counter the waning effect of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Given the deceased also had other comorbidities, the booster shot is likely of paramount importance for protection. According to the local media, the residents and staff become eligible for the booster jab when the community goes two weeks with no new COVID-19 cases.