By Patrick Adrian
[email protected]
UNITY — Sullivan County health care officials continue to encourage community-wide vaccinations as the best countermeasure to the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic, as breakthrough cases of the virus in the county nursing home increase.
The Sullivan County nursing home continues to weather a nearly month-long outbreak of the novel coronavirus, which has infected a total of 21 residents and five staff to date.
Twenty of the 21 infected residents were fully vaccinated, according to county officials.
All five staff members and 11 of the 21 residents who were infected had tested positive prior to May 5.
Since that time 10 additional residents, all fully vaccinated, have tested positive for the virus.
Singling out a reason for the more recent cases is virtually impossible, given the fast-spreading and sometimes asymptomatic nature of this virus, according to Ted Purdy, Sullivan County director of health care.
“Like anything related to this virus, it’s difficult to determine when or where the transmission occurred,” Purdy told The Eagle Times on Tuesday.
The county discovered the outbreak through facility-wide testing on April 27, after a staff person and one resident tested positive for the virus. Through that testing the county identified another four positive cases among staff and another 10 residents, all of whom resided in the same wing (McConnell).
Following the Apr. 27 testing the nursing home reinstated full PPE protection policies and curtailed social visits from family or friends outside the facility, though “compassionate visits” — special visits to provide comfort or support to a resident who is dying or suffering — are still allowed.
Purdy said the staff also try to separate residents, though that is difficult when residents with similar health conditions, particularly dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, need to share the same unit.
“We try to keep them separated though it is hard to do with certain residents,” Purdy said. “But from day one (of this outbreak) we have kicked into full PPE mode and try to keep residents separated and socially distanced.”
Additionally many of the residents infected during this outbreak have been either asymptomatic or exhibited minor symptoms, according to Purdy. Weekly testing is also limited because an individual who tests negatively one week may test positively the next.
State and federal health agencies are still tracking and studying positive cases of the virus in fully vaccinated people, otherwise known as “breakthrough cases,” though health officials, including Purdy, continue to stress the vaccine’s high rate of effectiveness, of 90% or higher, in clinical studies.
Evidence from the Sullivan County outbreak also appears to support study findings that vaccinated individuals are less at risk of death or hospitalization from an infection than unvaccinated people.
Only one of the 20 infected Sullivan County nursing home residents required hospitalization during their recovery, Purdy said. That resident has since recovered.
On a positive note, according to Purdy, there have been no new positive cases among staff since May 5 and all five infected staff members have recovered and been cleared to return to work.
A majority of the infected patients have also cleared their 14-day period of incubation and are no longer considered active, Purdy said.
Ninety-two percent of Sullivan County’s nursing home residents and 75% of the staff are fully vaccinated, according to Purdy.
As of Tuesday 36.7% of New Hampshire residents, or more than 1.3 million residents, have been fully vaccinated, according to data compiled by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The county remains concerned about the community spread of the virus, which is attributed for sourcing the current virus outbreak.
“We are still being impacted by the community,” Purdy said. “We will need to achieve a vaccination rate between 70 to 80% from the community to achieve herd immunity.”
Though county officials did discuss a possible requirement for nursing home staff to be vaccinated, during a meeting on May 3, Purdy said the county has been focused on budget discussions and has not furthered the vaccination conversation.
As your daily newspaper, we are committed to providing you with important local news coverage for Sullivan County and the surrounding areas.