COVID-19: As care home residents get second vaccine doses, study aims to track their antibody levels

published on February 19, 2021 by Susan Lazaruk , in Vancouver Sun

A virologist said it may be months before restrictions for visitors are lifted, and freedoms and procedures at seniors' homes may never return to pre-COVID times.

Residents of seven B.C. seniors’ homes, including one with one of the deadliest COVID-19 outbreaks, have been or soon will be fully vaccinated, but a virologist studying how well the vaccine worked on those elderly residents said it will likely be months before restrictions are lifted, and long-term care homes may never return to pre-pandemic freedoms.

“We hope some of the findings of our study can be used by public health officials as they move forward with their approach to visitors,” said the study lead, Dr. Marc Romney, who heads up medical microbiology and virology at Providence Health Care.

But he said it will be months before the study results can be used to inform public health policy for the long-term care homes, where the majority of B.C. deaths from COVID-19 have occurred.

The study will test about 200 elderly residents and staff who live or work in six long-term care homes, including the Holy Family home, where 21 residents died last summer in the first of three outbreaks at that home, and an assisted-living home run by Providence Health. Their blood will be tested one, two, six and 12 months after getting the second dose.

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COVID-19: As care home residents get second vaccine doses, study aims to track their antibody levels

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