The delay in the deployment of vaccines in nursing homes in Louisiana is due to the increasing outbreak of the virus.Coronavirus

Despite the growing number of residents of Louisiana’s most vulnerable long-term care centers, despite being vaccinated with COVID-19, it can still take weeks before the real-life harsh conditions occur. There is sex. Coronavirus Pandemics have eased and infectious diseases are on the rise, so the laborious efforts to protect them were not immediately feasible.

According to Louisiana numbers, more than 5,000 residents as of Friday, about two weeks after pharmacy giants Walgreens and CVS began taking the COVID-19 vaccine at nursing homes and care facilities in Louisiana. The staff was receiving the first vaccination. Health and CVS.

Approximately 5,100 vaccines were given in long-term care facilities, according to a State Department spokeswoman. She said it included about 3,600 inhabitants and 1,500 staff.

However, these numbers were lower than those reported online on CVS Friday. The drugstore chain reported that it was receiving about 5,300 vaccines in Louisiana. Similar numbers were not provided by Walgreens.

CVS states that the numbers reported to the state may be delayed, but it is unclear why the numbers are inconsistent.

In Louisiana, more than 80,000 people, including healthcare workers and people over the age of 70, have already been vaccinated for the first of two vaccinations since it was launched last month in an effort criticized for its slowness. doing.

As with the deployment of vaccines for hospitals and healthcare professionals, promotion in nursing homes was slower than expected. It also occurs when infections in nursing homes are on the rise. Over 500 new cases were reported across the state last week, and dozens of new infections were reported in some households. The state does not report a weekly increase in long-term care facilities that are not nursing homes.

Two drugstore chains that have contracted with the federal government to provide vaccinations to residents and staff of long-term care facilities across the country have vowed to complete the first round of vaccines across the country by January 25.

The process began in Louisiana on December 28, when a team of CVS and Walgreens began setting up pop-up clinics in nursing homes to deliver Moderna vaccines to approximately 22,000 nursing home residents in Louisiana. ..

However, it can still take weeks before the vaccine begins to reduce the number of infections and deaths at these facilities.

On Wednesday, about 270 nursing homes in the state reported more than 500 new cases of the virus, according to state numbers. This is the highest number of new cases reported since August during the so-called second surge.

Vaccine promotion is welcomed as an important step in gaining an edge over viruses that have killed more than 350,000 people nationwide. In Louisiana, the coronavirus killed more than 2,500 residents and killed thousands of employees in care centers, according to state health agency data compiled by The Advocate. Approximately 7,500 people died across the state, according to state data reported on Sunday.

Some homes are also seeing serious outbreaks. Covington’s Forest Manners, one of the most deadly outbreaks when 38 residents died of the virus last year, ended nearly three months in a statement, administrator Clay Pele said. Said that.

But that changed on December 21, when the residents were positive. Since then, outbreaks have skyrocketed, probably boosted by a high rate of cases in the Parish of St. Tammany. Forrest Manor currently has 46 COVID patients quarantined, Pele said. Most of them are asymptomatic, he said.

David Tardo, whose 92-year-old mother Leatrice Lobell lives in Forest Manor, said the house had returned to its early pandemic state. Residents were primarily trapped in their own rooms, and visits were interrupted again due to a decrease in the number of cases, but visits through closed windows were allowed.

“She said it was very quiet,” Tarde said.

Robel said he received the first dose of the vaccine last week, and is anxiously waiting for the second. The vaccine takes about two weeks to provide high protection against the virus after the second shot, and the first dose can provide some protection against the disease within a few days.

To date, 99 of the 131 residents of the facility have received the first injection of the vaccine, Pele said. The second round of vaccination will take place on January 27th or 30th.

Forest manners are almost not alone. In the week ending Wednesday, more than 12 homes reported double-digit growth. According to state data, four homes, including Kenner’s Chateau Living Center, which reported 43 new cases, reported more than 20 cases. Officials said they suspended visits “for the foreseeable future” and tested residents and staff twice a week in accordance with state and federal protocols.

Samantha Brotherd, director of clinical operations at the chateau, said 180 homes and staff had received the first injection of the vaccine so far.

Dr. Joseph Canter, who heads the state’s coronavirus response at the Louisiana Department of Health, said it was reasonable to expect deaths and serious illnesses to plummet as more vulnerable populations are protected by vaccines. ..

“What we care more about is less hospitalization and fewer deaths,” Canter said in a recent interview. “There is no doubt that these will decrease rapidly.”

Public health experts emphasize that it is important to keep the virus out of the homes of the elderly in order to stabilize hospitalization. Outbreaks in nursing homes, as seen in the early days of the pandemic, often see hospitals hit by a wave of patients more vulnerable to more serious illness due to COVID-19.

Although some nursing homes show a sharp increase in the number of cases, the level of infection is not about the same as that seen in the spring.

At that time, the closure of long-term care facilities and other elderly centers was widespread, many felt isolated, and families were sometimes anxious about their loved ones. Visitor restrictions were relaxed in the fall, but often remain tightly restricted outdoors and behind glass shields.

In most cases, hugs and other physical contacts are not yet allowed.

Tulane University epidemiologist Susan Hasig said measures such as regular and sometimes twice-weekly staff and resident inspections also helped.

“We have come up with a way to prevent it from running like a wildfire in the facility,” she said.

Shots prevent serious symptoms in those who receive them, but health professionals are uncertain if they can still spread the coronavirus and have a significant impact on controlling infections in a larger population. Hasig said it was unlikely to be given.

Despite these concerns, health officials anticipate increased public participation and tend to want workers to be guided to take shots.

“They have everything to lose,” Canter said. “They have seen many friends get sick, and I think there is a lot of excitement in getting the vaccine among the inhabitants.”