COVID vaccinations in aged care fall to a new low as nine residents die

Less than 1,000 residential aged care residents in the nation were vaccinated against COVID-19 in the past seven days as the virus killed a further nine residents, as the total death figure closes in on 6,000 aged care resident deaths. 

Updated figures from the Department of Health and Aged Care show there are residential aged care homes with as little as 40-49% of residents with a COVID booster dose. 
The Department states 66.9% of eligible residents have received a booster dose.

More worrying, according to the Department of Health and Aged Care’s own data, as of July, there are staff at residential aged care homes with only 40-50% having a booster vaccine.

At 8am on 24 August, there were 486 active COVID-19 cases in 88 active outbreaks in residential aged care facilities, with most of the cases in NSW, Victoria and Queensland residential aged care homes.

 
There have been 36 new outbreaks and 314 combined new resident and staff cases over the seven days to 24 August.

The Department estimates 114,922 (62.2%) residents have had a recent immunising event of a vaccine dose (including the 2023 booster), or COVID-19 infection in the last six months and are therefore ineligible for a 2023 booster dose.

It also states that since the beginning of the Omicron outbreak in mid-December 2021, there have been 101,951 deaths in residential aged care from all causes, with COVID deaths accounting for 4.9% of the figure.

The SOURCE: It seems unthinkable that staff and residents are still not fully protected against COVID.