Families of nursing home residents ‘anxious’ about missed vaccines

Families of nursing home residents have complained about the lack of information about when those who missed out on the first-dose of the Covid-19 vaccine due to outbreaks will be inoculated.

Almost 3,000 residents and staff in 121 nursing homes have not yet received their first doses.

In four nursing homes where vaccinations were not started due to outbreaks, some 300 people are still to be vaccinated, while 2,600 people are awaiting first doses in 117 homes where vaccinations were started but stopped due to outbreaks of the disease.

The HSE has told nursing homes that “mop-up” first vaccinations will be administered to residents missed in the initial round on the days the second doses are given to other residents.

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"We are not getting dates or details around when the mop-up clinics will take place and that is causing a lot of anxiety among family members," said Sarah Lennon, executive director of Sage Advocacy, which provides support to older and vulnerable adults.

Some 369 people, or more than a third of the deaths associated with Covid-19 in January, were nursing home residents. Almost half of all deaths during the pandemic, about 1,600 of the 3,586 deaths from the disease, have been nursing home residents and staff.

Nursing home residents started receiving the first of their two-dose vaccinations last month and the HSE is currently administering second doses in the facilities.

Ms Lennon said Sage knew of nursing home residents who had become infected with Covid-19 in the 28 days between their first and second doses.

She said she had come across cases of nursing home residents where their second dose had been brought forward or sped up because of concerns about the spread of infections.

“The big thing is if vaccine one has been done, and there is an outbreak, and they are due to have the second dose of the vaccine, how long are we going to wait?” she said.

‘Very challenged’ sector

The HSE said the nursing home sector was “still very challenged” with the early positive signs of declining Covid-19 cases “not really landing yet in the nursing homes”.

HSE chief operations officer Anne O’Connor said the number of outbreaks in nursing homes still had not reduced. There were 193 open nursing home outbreaks, accounting for 34 per cent of the 580 in the State.

Some 2,000 nursing home staff were unavailable to work due to Covid-19, she said, and the HSE was providing a “high level of support” to 279 homes including 47 which were receiving an intensive level of help.

Dr Lucy Jessop, director of the HSE's National Immunisation Office, told the HSE's weekly briefing she did not think there was any reason to bring forward the second dose of vaccinations in nursing homes from the scheduled 28 days.

Residents had “good protection” from the disease 12 days after their first dose and would have protection until they had their second dose, she said.