This week, the number of active outbreaks in the county’s skilled nursing facilities continued falling for the fourth week in a row as the rate of new cases continued to decrease.
County public health officials reported Wednesday that there are 45 active outbreaks among skilled nursing facilities out of the 157 that have occurred since the pandemic began. That includes two new outbreaks since last week’s report.
Unlike community outbreaks that are defined as three or more cases from separate households, an outbreak in a skilled nursing facility is declared active when one or more people test positive for the novel coronavirus, and is deemed inactive once no one has tested positive there for at least two weeks.
For only the fifth time since August, and the first time since October, the number of new cases among skilled nursing health care workers outpaced the number of new cases among residents.
This week, the county reported 111 new cases of the novel coronavirus among skilled nursing home residents, bringing the total to 4,146 since the pandemic began. Among staff, there were 143 new cases, which brings the total to 2,748.
Public health officials also reported there have been 485 deaths related to COVID-19 outbreaks over the past year in skilled nursing facilities. That includes an additional 15 deaths, which is half the number of new deaths reported the week before.
The rate of new cases among residents continued its decline nationally and throughout the state, following the conclusion of the winter holiday surge and the administration of vaccinations to residents and staff.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reported this week that as of Valentine’s Day, 635,369 nursing home residents across the country have tested positive for the virus, including 57,833 California residents. Thus far, 128,285 residents have died nationally, and 8,757 have died in California.
The declining rate of new cases among the nursing home populations is in part due to the demographic having had vaccination priority when the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines were approved by the FDA. But some professional caregivers and health care workers remain wary of receiving their shots.
The American Health Care Association issued a statement this week about the ongoing effort to encourage senior health care providers to get vaccinated in partnership with Leading Age, a nonprofit representing more than 5,000 nonprofit aging services providers throughout the country.
In coordination with the Centers for Disease Control, the organizations aim for 75 percent of the country’s 1.5 million nursing home staff to be vaccinated by the end of June.
“With COVID-19 vaccinations being distributed across long-term care facilities over the past two months, we have already seen a decline in cases in nursing homes, indicating that the vaccines are working,” said Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of AHCA. “Many of our staff continue to be excited about the vaccines and the hope they represent, but some caregivers still have questions.
“We are continuing to inform our staff about the credibility and safety of the vaccines through our #GetVaccinated campaign, and we hope this goal will further encourage more of our staff members to get the vaccine.”
In San Diego’s skilled nursing facilities, most of the county’s residents and staff have now been vaccinated or are awaiting their second shot.
Of the 5,911 residents in the county, 5,643 have received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 4,680 have received a second shot, as of Wednesday. Among the county’s 9,624 nursing home staff, 7,679 have received the first dose and 7,230 have received a second, a California Department of Public Health spokesperson said in an email Friday.
With San Diego currently in the state’s purple tier for COVID-19 restrictions, approved skilled nursing facilities can allow visitations in large, communal spaces either outdoors or indoors.
The California Department of Public Health is evaluating possible changes to the visitation policies while continuing to focus on fully vaccinating staff and residents throughout the state, a spokesperson said via email Friday.
“CDPH understands the importance of ensuring that residents of long-term care facilities maintain contact with their family and friends,” the spokesperson wrote. “Visitation policies are designed to protect the health and safety of residents, staff and the public while also considering a resident’s physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being and quality of life.”