Six residential aged care homes have reported less than 10% of residents as having received a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine as the virus resulted in the deaths of another 176 residents around Australia in the past seven days.
COVID is now active in 1,604 facilities with 9,906 active cases – 6,360 residents and 3,546 staff, according to the Department of Health and Aged Care.
The Federal Government on Monday, for the first time, made public the third and fourth dose vaccination levels of residents at every residential aged care home – just before it shut down the Operation COVID Shield vaccination program led by Lieutenant General John Frewen on 1 August.
The figures revealed a wide variation in vaccination rates, with many homes having 90-100% of residents with a fourth dose.
However, six residential aged care homes were identified as having an aged care resident vaccination rate between 0% and 9%. They were:
- Catholic HealthCare’s Lewisham Nursing Home, 7km south-west of Sydney’s CBD;
- Calvary Aged Care – Albury & District, Glenroy, Albury, on the NSW/VIC border;
- Edgarley Assisted Living Residential Aged Care (above), Casterton, far southwestern VIC;
- mecwacare Noel Miller Centre in Glen Iris, 10km south-west of Melbourne’s CBD;
- Opal HealthCare’s Mudgee Grove Care Community in Central West NSW; and
- Russian Relief Association’s St Sergius Aged Care (pictured), Cabramatta, 30km south-west of Sydney’s CBD.
All six aged care homes have been badly hit by COVID. A Calvary spokeswoman said a fourth dose was to be administered in July but had to be postponed due to a COVID outbreak.
“Eligible and consenting residents are rescheduled to receive their fourth dose on either 4th, 11th or 18th August,” she said.
Six homes had more than 100 cases of COVID in the week to 29 July:
- 141 (26 residents, 115 staff): Blue Care’s Mt Louisa Aged Care Facility in Townsville, north-eastern coast of QLD;
- 119 (60 residents, four deaths, 59 staff): Jindalee Aged Care Residence, Narrabundah, Canberra, ACT;
- 111 (64 residents, two deaths, 47 staff): Palm Lake Care Bargara, 13km from Bundaberg, QLD;
- 108 (63 residents, 45 staff) Anglicare Southern Queensland Kirami Home for the Aged, Point Vernon, Hervey Bay, QLD;
- 108 (60 residents, one death, 48 staff): Resthaven Marion, Marion, 10km south-west of Adelaide’s CBD, SA;
- 102 (64 residents, 48 staff): Adventist Retirement Plus Victoria Point, Redland City, Brisbane.
Minister for Aged Care Anika Wells said the COVID-19 wave would peak in aged care homes last month, and although it continued to rise slightly in the week to Sunday, there are signs the wave is slowing.
COVID entered a further 591 homes and the number of cases in residents with the virus increased by 42. Staff cases rose by 177.
