CNY Nursing Home Calls Group Claim That Covid Vaccine Killed Dangerously Fake Residents

Auburn, New York – An Auburn retirement home says a national group’s claim that the Covid-19 vaccine could have killed some of its residents is “patently false.”

A website article published Sunday by the Ron Paul Institute suggests without any evidence that the Covid-19 vaccine could have caused 24 deaths at The Commons on St. Anthony. The post provided a link to a Syracuse.com article published on Saturday that an outbreak of Covid-19 in the 300-bed nursing home had infected 137 residents, 24 of whom have died. Syracuse.com story also reported that the nursing home, run by Loretto, had started vaccinating residents against the virus.

The nursing home says the group’s claim is misleading, that the outbreak began before the vaccine was given, and some of the residents who died were not vaccinated.

The message from the Ron Paul Institute says:

“Things seem to be going backwards at The Commons on St. Anthony retirement home in Auburn, New York. Vaccinating people is believed to reduce or end deaths from coronaviruses. Right? But, in the Commons, such deaths are said to have only occurred after residents began to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Julie Sheedy, an executive at Loretto, said the website disseminated “false and dangerously misleading information.”

She said the nursing home epidemic began in December before the Covid-19 vaccine became available. The first resident tested positive on December 16 and an outbreak of additional cases was confirmed on December 21, Sheedy said. The nursing home began immunizing residents on December 22.

“We certainly want vaccines to be available sooner to help prevent the devastation caused by this virus,” Sheedy said. “But the claims and timelines on this website are dangerously speculative and factually inaccurate. We hope the community knows not to trust unverified information, whether it’s on the web, social media, or in person. “

The first deaths from Covid-19 at the nursing home were reported on December 29 by the Cayuga County Health Department. Sheedy said some of the residents who died had been vaccinated, but wouldn’t say how many.

“Given the incubation period that we are experiencing for this virus, our facility was affected before the vaccines were available to be administered,” she said.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it takes the body a few weeks to build immunity to Covid-19 after vaccination. Covid-19 vaccines require two doses given about four weeks apart. The CDC says it’s possible for a person to be infected with Covid-19 and get sick after being vaccinated if the vaccine hasn’t had enough time to provide protection.

The website is named after former congressman, presidential candidate and physician Ron Paul, known for his conservative and libertarian views. The website post was widely disseminated on social media by some anti-vaccination groups.

Conservative TV host Laura Ingraham also spoke about the Auburn nursing home outbreak on her Fox News show Monday night. “Why did an epidemic of Covid deaths in a nursing home coincide with an explosion in vaccine distribution?” she said with a screenshot of the Syracuse.com story in the background.

Ingraham then interviewed Dr Harvey Risch, a Yale epidemiologist, who said the Covid-19 vaccine is effective in protecting people against disease and death from Covid-19, but does not prevent vaccinated people from transmitting. the virus to others.

The Covid-19 death toll in the Commons rose to 32 on Monday, according to the state.

Cayuga County was hit by a spate of Covid-19 cases after Thanksgiving. The total number of Covid-19 deaths in the county fell from 13 on December 21 to 58 on Tuesday.

Cayuga County had 3,924 confirmed cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday. That number has more than doubled in the past three weeks.

James T. Mulder covers health and higher education. Got a news tip? Contact him at (315) 470-2245 or [email protected]