COVID-19: Outbreaks Continue to Increase in Long-Term Care Homes as Booster Program Nears End

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The number of COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing homes continues to rise in British Columbia, even as a booster vaccination program for residents that began rolling out earlier this month appears to be nearing completion.

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Officials from the British Columbia Ministry of Health did not say what percentage of nursing home residents had received a third booster blow or provide details on the implementation.

But Health Ministry spokeswoman Aileen Machell said “we’re almost there” in a short written response to questions that included when the province expected to complete its nursing home booster program.

Machell said Health Minister Adrian Dix would provide details this week.

According to the most recent information from the provincial and regional health authorities, there are 28 outbreaks in long-term care, assisted living and independent living residences.

That’s more than the 16 long-term care and assisted living homes that experienced outbreaks two weeks ago, and far more than in mid-July, when the outbreaks dropped to zero.

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The outbreaks include one at the Cottonwoods Care Center in Kelowna that is now in its third month.

There have been 17 deaths since Aug. 2 at the 221-bed facility, where residents received a booster before Oct. 11, according to Interior Health officials.

In the second deadliest ongoing outbreak, there have been 13 deaths since Sept. 27 at the Willingdon Care Center in Burnaby, where residents have also received backup.

An outbreak was also declared Friday in the 60-bed Cascade Gardens senior community in Burnaby, where residents have received their reinforcements, according to Fraser Health officials.

The British Columbia government took until the end of September to announce a third injection of COVID-19 for vulnerable populations, including in long-term care homes, after the National Immunization Advisory Committee finally approved a third injection to restore protection. which may have decreased over time. .

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Since then, the province has said booster shots will be available to all British Columbia residents starting next year.

“It is a susceptible population (in long-term care homes), and all that is needed is one exposure, even from a vaccinated person who would have contracted it from the unvaccinated group that persists,” said Dr. Brian Conway. , President and Medical Director of the Vancouver Center for Infectious Diseases.

Conway emphasized that it was important to rush third doses in the vulnerable population, such as nursing homes, but also to reach the largest number of people who remain unvaccinated in the general population.

Interior Health officials said they could not immediately comment on the reasons for the prolonged outbreak at the Cottonwoods facility in Kelowna.

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But earlier, Interior Health’s medical health officer, Dr. Silvina Mema, told reporters that it has been difficult to prevent and stop the spread of COVID-19 in Cottonwoods because it was an older building, had shared rooms and a population of patients with dementia.

Only 34 beds are in private rooms, according to information from the BC Ombudsman for the Elderly

Information compiled by Postmedia from the BC Center for Disease Control shows that there have been outbreaks in nearly 70 nursing homes since the beginning of August, nearly half of which have suffered one death or more for a total of more than 100 deaths.

In those facilities, there have been more than 1,000 cases, about two-thirds of them in residents and the rest among staff.

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As of October 12, all staff working in long-term care homes had to be fully vaccinated and face dismissal after two weeks of unpaid leave for not doing so.

On October 12, all visitors also had to show proof of vaccination to enter a nursing home.

Several provinces approved booster shots for residents in long-term care homes much earlier than British Columbia, including Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario. Other jurisdictions, including the United States, had done the same.

By mid-October, nearly all long-term care residents in Ontario had received a booster shot.

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