Covid-19 ravaged Canadian nursing homes. Now the dead have fallen.

Data released this week from Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, indicates that the relative risk of death from Covid-19 among nursing home populations has decreased by 96%. Analyzes of other regions of the country suggest a similar trend. At Ontario facilities, the relative risk of Covid-19 infection fell 89% among residents and 79% among health care workers.

The findings were based on data from Feb. 23, at which time 92% of residents in nursing homes had received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, compared to 55% of residential staff. The authors measured the extent to which treatment reduced the risk of negative outcomes in relation to a group of unvaccinated adults aged 70 years or older living at home in the community.

“This is the first real good news for this sector of the population,” Dr. Nathan Stall, geriatric and deputy scientific director of Ontario’s Covid-19 advisory panel, who produced the report with data showing the sharp drop in the risk of death.

Samir Sinha, head of geriatrics at the hospital group at Health Network University of Toronto and co-chair of the Ryerson University Institute of Aging, said the number of Covid-19 outbreaks in 5,800 nursing homes of the country has fallen by 70% since early January. This coincides with significant falls over the past two months in the seven-day average of confirmed cases of Covid-19, from more than 9,000 to less than 3,000, and related hospitalizations, from more than 4,000 to 1,600.

Dr. Sinha said most cases of Covid-19, related hospitalizations and deaths across the country now involve people aged 65 or over who still live at home. “That’s why the race continues to vaccinate as much as possible,” he said. Provinces, such as Ontario, are now focusing on this segment of the population in the second phase of vaccination launch.

During the first months of the pandemic, Canadian nursing homes were more affected than those in any other major economy, with approximately 80% of Canadian virus deaths linked to these facilities. In comparison, nursing homes accounted for less than 40% of Covid-19 deaths in the United States. In total so far, nursing homes account for two-thirds of Covid-19 deaths in Canada, but only 9% of cases, according to data from the National Institute on Aging, which is part of Ryerson University of Toronto.

When the pandemic hit, many of the country’s long-term care facilities — a mix of publicly owned and for-profit homes — were unstaffed, poorly equipped, and dilapidated. Canadian Army doctors and soldiers were sent to help regional officials control outbreaks in these homes.

“Long – term care homes were the epicenter of the virus in [Ontario] for the better part of the pandemic. And the vaccines have almost completely extinguished the fire, “Dr. Stall said. He described the study’s findings as” spectacular, “adding that the results call for the Canadian authorities’ decision to address them initially. nursing home residents and vaccination implementation staff.The United States and the United Kingdom, both well in advance in Canada to date for inoculating their populations, also advised that residents in nursing homes should be a priority.

John Yip, CEO of Kensington Health, a Toronto-based nonprofit that operates a nursing home for 350 residents, has seen a dozen residents die of Covid-19 over the past year . He said the mood among staff and residents has been encouraged with the implementation of vaccination. So far, more than 95% of Kensington residents have received two doses and the residence has been free of Covid-19 for about a month.

Yip said the spouse of a demented resident wrote to him this week to let him know that “things are getting better,” explaining how the couple shared a dance, while masked, with a song by Elvis Presley during a visit. Others said they were smiling sportingly for the first time in a while.

“I think we’re almost there,” Yip said, about returning to an appearance of normalcy. The change in Canada comes as U.S. federal authorities this week lifted restrictions on visiting nursing homes amid widespread vaccinations.

Pandemic rules in Canada for nursing homes vary by region, although for the most part they remain strict: there is usually a visitor limit, with a focus on family members who they are considered essential caregivers.

The British Columbia Center for Disease Control said last month that a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine reduced the risk of transmission between long-term care residents and health workers by 80%. within two to three weeks after vaccination. Data from Quebec, which has the highest number of Covid-19 cases and residency-related deaths, suggest that four weeks after inoculation the vaccine’s effectiveness in containing transmission among long-term care residents term reached 80%.

Canada’s vaccination rate, or tightly administered doses, has risen sharply in the past two weeks to 7%, although it tracks almost all major European economies and lags far behind the UK and US states. United States As of Thursday, the seven-day average in administered doses had increased 56% in two weeks, as Pfizer Inc.

and Modern Inc.

accelerated shipments to fill the shortage at the beginning of the quarter due to reorganization and bottlenecks in the supply chain.

Write to Paul Vieira to [email protected]