Boosters begin for B.C. long-term care residents Monday

NORTH VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Starting Monday, those living in B.C. long-term care and assisted living centres will be getting a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

The province made the decision after data showed older people do not develop as strong of an antibody response with their first two doses, and people over the age of 70, especially those with underlying chronic medical conditions, are most at risk of a serious or fatal illness after contracting COVID-19.

B.C. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says they are beginning to administer those doses now, as it has been around six months after many received their second shot.

Related Articles: 

• ‘Heartbreaking’ COVID-19 outbreaks in B.C. care homes largely due to unvaccinated staff, visitors

• Transparency still questioned around deadly outbreak at East Vancouver care home

• B.C. woman whose dad got COVID-19 in long-term care wishes vaccine mandate came sooner

“The data that’s come out shows that somewhere around six months after dose two is probably the best time to do that,” she said on Sept. 28.

It comes after people who are severely immunocompromised began getting a third shot late last month.

People will be contacted by the province if they are eligible.

The BC Care Providers Association CEO Terry Lake says they haven’t heard many details about the rollout specifics.

“It could be in health authority owned and operated sites that the rollout will start today and that would certainly make sense,” Lake said.

“We don’t know if it’s going to be health authority nurses coming in to do the vaccine or if it will be pharmacists. We’ve yet to hear all those details.”

Ruby Campbell’s dad lives in a long-term care in Burnaby and says not only is it important for her dad to get a third shot, but for everyone to be immunized who works in the care home.

“Not just for the safety of my father, the safety of the staff, but also my mother who is elderly and she visits daily… So now we have other people going into the care home assuming the staff are vaccinated and if they are not we are putting other people at risk,” Campbell said.

Growing number of cases

Care home outbreaks have grown in recent months, as the Delta variant continues to spread across the province. On Friday, 20 long-term care and assisted or independent living centres were dealing with outbreaks of the virus. As of Sept. 29, there are more than 230 residents and staff with the virus.

Kelowna’s Cottonwoods Care Centre is facing the highest number of cases, with 30 residents and 11 staff testing positive for the virus. There have been six deaths reported, all of them were residents.

Vancouver’s Louis Brier Home and Hospital, and Prince George Jubilee Lodge have the second and third worst case numbers for care centres in the province.

Unvaccinated people to blame

Since the pandemic began, concern has grown over unvaccinated staff within long-term care homes, despite having been offered the vaccine in the first priority group of the vaccine rollout.

The province confirmed to NEWS 1130 that is it people who are not immunized who introduce the virus into these homes.

“In all of the outbreaks where we’ve confirmed the source, the introduction of the virus into these facilities, which resulted in an outbreak, was from unvaccinated individual,” an email said.

By Oct. 12, all employees, as well as volunteers and personal service providers, in care homes need to be fully vaccinated. Starting Oct. 26, all health-care workers in acute and community care will need to be immunized, something that Doctors of BC has been pushing for.

The province says visitors must present proof of immunization to fulfill the visitation guidance for long-term care and seniors’ assisted living facilities, but the vaccine card is not required. Anyone who does not show proof must wear a mask.

The BC Care Providers Association says up until recently there was no sign that visitors were bringing in the virus, likely because the care homes were shut for more than a year due to the pandemic. But the situation seems to be changing in recent months.

“Because visitors, you know families and friends are so careful. But with the Delta variant we are suspicious that some outbreaks may have been caused by visitors. It just stands to reason that if you have to show proof of vaccination to go to a restaurant or pub that you have to do so to visit someone at long-term care,” he said about the association asking for the province to make it a requirement.