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CONNECTICUT – As the state winds its way from Phase 1a to 1b of its coronavirus vaccine rollout plan, it’s worth stopping for a moment to ask, “Is this working? “
Getting the drug into the arms of nursing home residents and long-term care facility staff, as well as front-line healthcare workers, was the primary goal of Phase 1a. Nursing homes were hit hardest by the virus at the start of the pandemic, being a perfect storm of susceptibility: a cohesive environment for the elderly. With the move to phase 1b (jabs for those 75 and over) in full swing, what kind of relief can we expect?
According to data made available by the state’s Department of Public Health, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in nursing homes plummeted around the beginning of January, roughly matching the deployment of the drug in these communities. More than 64,000 COVID-19 vaccines were administered to residents and workers of nursing homes in January according to the Department of Public Health.
That’s good news, but it’s still a coincidence, for the half-empty glass crowd.
To get a glimpse of their world a few weeks or sometimes months into the future, public health prognosticators have paid special attention to Israel. There, the deployment was carried out with enviable military efficiency and speed. Considering the smaller size of the country and the declared willingness to pay the highest price for the drug, it is not surprising that there are fewer problems in the supply chain.
What do we know about the Israelis watching? Pfizer’s vaccine is about 92% effective, which is what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expected, based on the drug’s accelerated trials. We have also learned that people who have received their two vaccines develop more antibodies to the disease than recovered COVID-19 patients – but give it a little time. Clalit, Israel’s largest health maintenance organization, reports that between five and 12 days after receiving their first dose, people were just as likely to test positive as unvaccinated people. After two weeks, that number dropped by 33%. The benefits for Israeli patients begin about three days later than what Pfizer reported in its Phase 3 trials last year.
As of January 28, 299,876 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, and an additional 64,379 seconds, for a total of 364,255 vaccinations in Connecticut. Although there is no Israel, the state is the fourth fastest per capita to release the sadly rare vaccine.
Although the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in nursing homes may drop here as the vaccine begins to roll out, the number of deaths from the disease is increasing (see graph). With 258 COVID-19 nursing home deaths in the first three weeks of January alone, Connecticut nursing homes are about as statistically deadly as they were when the pandemic began.
The DPH Nursing Home Weekly Report uses data submitted to the National Healthcare Safety Network, which reflects the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths that have occurred in the past week among residents and staff. CT DPH started reporting NHSN data from June 17. Cumulative data for residents was rebased on July 15 and again on July 21 to account for false positives detected that week. Due to the different methods of data collection and processing between the NHSN and the data sources used previously, DPH does not add data before and after rebaselining due to the possibility of duplication of cases and deaths among the data. past and present.
You can browse the table page by page using the arrow at the top right, or search for information using the tool at the top left of the charts:
* Three Rivers Healthcare closed permanently on September 30, 2020.
** Cassena Care of New Britain closed permanently on December 19, 2020.
*** Meridian Manor permanently closed on January 7, 2021
DPH is asking Connecticut assisted living facilities to report the impact of COVID-19 on their residents and staff through the Mutual Aid Plan for Long-Term Care (LTC) online reporting system. -MAP). This report is intended to reflect recent COVID-19 activity in assisted living facilities.
The CT DPH Assisted Living Weekly Report uses data submitted to LTC-MAP that reflects the number of cases and deaths associated with COVID-19 that have occurred in the past week among residents and staff.
CT DPH began reporting LTC-MAP data on resident deaths associated with COVID-19 on July 8, 2020. Due to the different data collection and processing methods between LTC-MAP and death data sources previously used, cumulative data on resident deaths was reset July 14, 2020. Data on resident deaths before and after July 14 should not be added due to the different definitions of COVID-19 associated deaths used and the possibility of duplication of deaths between past and current data.
You can browse the table page by page using the arrow at the top right, or search for information using the tool at the top left of the charts:
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