COVID-19 and flu have hit aged care hard this winter

COVID-19 outbreaks were recorded in nearly 400 residential aged care homes as more than 3,000 staff and residents contracted the highly contagious virus in the week to 4 July 2024.

In total, 39 residents died from COVID-19 during the week. 

A spokesperson for Arcare, which operates 52 aged care homes in Victoria, New South Wales, and the ACT, told The SOURCE their operations are being impacted by COVID-19. In May, the provider had 37 outbreaks, which necessitated the use of additional Personal Protective Equipment for staff, including the wearing of masks and shields in homes where there are outbreaks.

Arcare encourages its residents and staff to keep up with their vaccinations, including through residents' GPs, including those who visit the aged care homes. Staff have also been offered vaccines at on-site clinics.

More than 12,000 aged care residents were vaccinated against COVID-19 in total in the last month, however, the rate of residents who have been vaccinated in the last six months, the recommended dose in Australia for those aged 75 and older, remains low at just more than 40%. Recent data released by the Department of Health and Aged Care reveals 97 aged care homes had vaccination rates of less than 10% and 706 facilities had coverage of less than 50%. Only 208 aged care homes had coverage of 90-100%.

"There are multiple benefits from vaccination for COVID-19, including, but not limited to, protecting against severe illness and death, and reducing the prevalence of symptoms associated with long COVID," Dr Anthony Marinucci, Chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners' Specific Interests Aged Care, told newsGP. 

Last month the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner Janet Anderson announced the regulator will make unannounced visits to aged care homes that let vaccination rates languish. The warning came after Janet and Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly wrote to providers..

Flu vaccine rates in residential aged care have also been low, with recent data from the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission showing that fewer than 10% of aged care residents have been vaccinated against flu.

COVID-19 was the cause of 2.2% of deaths in residential aged care between 1 January 2024 and 27 June 2024. Since the beginning of the Omicron outbreak, in mid-December 2021, COVID-19 accounted for 3.9% of all deaths in residential aged care.