How does COVID-19 spread in a highly vaccinated aged care home?

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-09-14 01:00

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COVID-19 outbreaks can still occur in a highly vaccinated aged care facility but vaccines can reduce the severity of disease, according to a French case study. Researchers looked at the outcome of an outbreak of the Alpha variant in a French aged care facility where 70 of 74 residents had received two Pfizer vaccines, and two had received one vaccine. A third of the staff working at the facility had also been vaccinated. 17 residents were diagnosed with COVID-19 during the outbreak, including the two partially vaccinated residents and one of the unvaccinated residents. Eight developed severe disease and the unvaccinated resident died. The researchers say this case study shows reduced immune function in aged care residents may reduce the ability of vaccines to prevent an outbreak entirely, and other health measures should still be used in conjunction with vaccines to keep aged care facilities safe.