Care home outbreaks reminder of vaccination limits

Health experts say COVID-19 outbreaks in two long-term care homes in British Columbia after most residents and staff were vaccinated are a reminder of the limits of immunization.

Officials announced yesterday that one resident and one staff member tested positive for COVID-19 at Fleetwood Place, a long-term care facility in Surrey where 88 per cent of residents had been vaccinated.

The outbreak follows one declared Sunday at the Cottonwoods Care Centre in Kelowna, where 10 residents and two staff members tested positive despite 82 per cent of residents being immunized.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has said vaccines are effective at preventing severe illness and death, but they don't necessarily stop all transmission, so masks and physical distancing remain important.

Horacio Bach, a University of British Columbia infectious diseases expert, says the first dose of vaccine generally provides protection after three weeks, but older people's immune systems may take longer to produce antibodies or may not produce them at all.

He also says it's possible that the cases are variants of concern, which vaccines may not be as effective against.

Bach adds it's important for the public to know that no vaccine prevents illness 100 per cent of the time, but the COVID-19 shots have been proven to be safe and very effective against serious illness and hospitalization.