Slow rollout of COVID boosters to blame for LTC outbreaks, Care Providers Association says

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — The ongoing COVID-19 outbreak at a Burnaby’s long term care home is being called “tragic” by the head of the B.C. Care Provider’s Association, as the slow rollout of booster shots across the province continues to see case numbers rise.

Terry Lake says the Willingdon Care Centre is well-run and has managed to avoid the virus through the first three waves, but waning immunity has left residents at risk.

“Immunity among the vulnerable residents has fallen, with over six months from their last vaccine. The virus got in and spread quickly, so this really points to the need to get that third booster in arms as quickly as possible,” he said.

As of Friday, 10 residents at Willingdon have died during the outbreak that has seen at least 100 cases, 78 of which have been infections among residents. Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommended booster shots for people in residential care and the severely immunocompromised in late September, and the rollout in B.C. has been underway for about two weeks.

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“Once the decision was made, health authorities seemed to be caught flat-footed with no real plans to get those doses out as quickly as possible,” Lake said. “We’re two weeks into the program and really only just begun. Most health authorities don’t think they’ll be finished until the middle of November.”

Lake believes staff at Long Term Care residences also need to be included in the rollout of booster shots. As it stands, many staff members are ineligible for a third dose.

“They’re not yet eligible for third doses, even though many of them had their second dose over six months ago, in fact at Willingdon,” he said. “There were a number of doses still available at the end of the day, and Health Authority officials were not allowed to give them to staff members, so people are feeling frustrated. They’re feeling a bit scared.”

The Ministry of Health told CityNews Vancouver they expect more than 50,000 eligible people to receive a third vaccine shot within the next month.

For one Langley man, the rollout of booster shots just isn’t happening fast enough.

Bradley Klaver’s grandma lives at Chartwell Langley Gardens, and received her first and second doses three weeks apart in January and February.

Klaver wants to know why it’s taking so long for the home to give out third doses.

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“They were given a dose three weeks apart, which apparently was not ideal. In hindsight, I can’t understand for the life of me why health officials have waited [until] now to roll out these third doses,” he said.

He says he’s especially concerned about his grandma’s health, as he watches the Willingdon care home outbreak grow.

“The citizens of the care homes have been put at risk, especially seeing what’s played out in Burnaby, at that facility,” he said. “Essentially it appears as though their immunity is zero, if that many residents have been afflicted with COVID in recent days.”

Klaver worries her immunity against the virus has now dropped too low to survive another outbreak at her care home.

“Having seen what’s happened in Burnaby, there’s nothing to say that couldn’t have happened at my grandma’s facility, or any other facility in B.C.,” he said. “In my opinion, it was completely avoidable.”

On Sunday, Fraser Health Authority announced an outbreak at the Heritage Village Long Term Care home in Chilliwack. In a statement, the authority says one staff member and one resident have tested positive for COVID-19.

While the staff member and resident are now self-isolating in their homes, the authority says it is working to identify anyone else who may have been exposed to the virus.

“During this time, Fraser Health has additional presence at the site to take any further actions required and support the facility. This includes dedicated people to address quality, answer questions from staff, residents and family, and provide active checks of symptoms with staff and residents,” the statement reads.

“It is critically important for people living in the Fraser Health region to get tested as soon as you have COVID-19-like symptoms, even mild ones. Please don’t wait.”

– With files from Kareem Gouda and The Canadian Press