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OTTAWA – Nursing homes across Canada were among the hardest hit in the world at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. But now, the first data shows that transmission and deaths from the virus are falling sharply.
Despite the slow overall deployment of vaccines in Canada, health officials have continued immunizations in nursing homes across the country; About 85% of adults there received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. Almost a third received two doses.
Data released this week in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, indicates that the relative risk of death from Covid-19 among nursing home populations has fallen by 96%. Analyzes from other parts of the country suggest a similar trend. In Ontario facilities, the relative risk of Covid-19 infection fell 89% among residents and 79% among healthcare workers.
The results were based on data from February 23, when 92% of nursing home residents had received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, compared to 55% among nursing home staff. The authors measured how well treatment reduced the risk of poor outcome compared to a group of unvaccinated adults aged 70 or older living at home in the community.
“This is the first real good news for this sector of the population,” said Dr. Nathan Stall, geriatrician and deputy scientific director of the Ontario Covid-19 Advisory Committee, which produced the report with data showing the sharp drop in risk of death.
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