The Chief Medical Officer of the Department of Health and Aged Care, Professor Paul Kelly, and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner, Janet Anderson, have written jointly to aged care providers, urging them to ensure aged care residents are up to date with COVID-19 booster shots.
The latest data from the Department of Health and Aged Care shows that just under 54% of residents have received their booster dose.
“This level of coverage is far lower than desirable. We are seeking your support in ensuring vaccination rates continue to improve, particularly where uptake is low,” the letter states.
Aged care residents who receive a COVID-19 booster have their chances of death from COVID-19 reduced by up to 93% three months after vaccination, compared to those who have not been vaccinated. The risk is still reduced by 50% six months after vaccination.
Aged care providers work with primary care providers to arrange vaccination clinics, which can be booked even for a single resident – there is no minimum number of residents needed for a clinic to take place.
“Primary care providers are encouraged to administer the 2023 COVID-19 booster dose even if the number of eligible residents is small,” the letter said.
|
|
Resident cases |
Staff cases |
Facilities affected |
Deaths (in last 7 days) |
|
23 June 2023 |
1,389 |
491 |
292 |
42 |
|
16 June 2023 |
1,906 |
644 |
376 |
38 |
|
9 June 2023 |
2,760 |
1,039 |
445 |
61 |
|
2 June 2023 |
2,743 |
1,039 |
476 |
56 |
|
25 May 2023 |
2,755 |
1,150 |
482 |
42 |
|
18 May 2023 |
2,191 |
941 |
453 |
38 |
|
11 May 2023 |
1,863 |
791 |
386 |
36 |
|
4 May 2023 |
1,974 |
733 |
391 |
79 |
|
27 April 2023 |
1,984 |
819 |
408 |
40 |
|
20 April 2023 |
1,866 |
795 |
375 |
33 |
|
13 April 2023 |
1,492 |
551 |
302 |
33 |
|
6 April 2023 |
1,078 |
435 |
234 |
20 |
|
30 March 2023 |
942 |
355 |
190 |
18 |
Source: Department of Health
Last week the number of residents who contracted COVID-19 declined for the second week in a row, dropping 27% to 1,389.
However, the number of deaths from COVID-19 rose, with 42 aged care residents dying from the virus in the last week.
The Older Person’s Advocacy Network (OPAN) has updated its Visitor Access in Residential Aged Care guidelines, which are available HERE. The guidelines were first introduced in 2020 to ensure aged care residents continued to receive visitors and care during the pandemic after some homes restricted visitors to the extent that residents were left isolated and not receiving the care they needed.
The SOURCE: While most of the community is returning to ‘life as normal’ after the pandemic, life in residential aged care is still being significantly impacted by COVID-19 – affecting staff, residents, and the bottom line for providers.
