Keeping your loved one safe from COVID this fall and winter

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Fall 2022 – Keeping Your Loved One Safe from COVID

As we head into the fall, we know that it is, once again, time to take all precautions to protect ourselves and our loved ones from COVID-19. In our long-term care homes, one resident case in a neighbourhood will bring communal dining and group activities to a stop. It also brings a requirement for our staff to wear increased PPE such as goggles in all resident care spaces. Additional resident cases bring about isolation for all residents which is stressful and challenging for both their mental health, particularly with respect to social isolation. Residents who are COVID positive are isolated and cared for with full PPE precautions, following protocols in order to reduce spread of COVID.

Staff cases of COVID impact our team as the staff member needs to be replaced during the time that they are infectious and ill. At times, this can require our team members to do additional shifts and overtime to cover. We appreciate how difficult this is for the team and the impact it has on residents as our staff work hard to carry the additional work load. When a staff member has COVID, the impact on the residents is reduced as that staff member is not permitted to work during their infectious period.

Infection control protocols (ICP), such as additional PPE or resident isolation are determined by the Medical Health Officer and are based onknowledge of the COVID-19 variants that are currently impacting the elderly in both long-term care and assisted living throughout our health region. Each time we have a COVID positive resident, our Director of Care (head nurse) and ICP Lead nurse work with the Medical Health Officer, determining an appropriate balance of precautions based on the specifics of our neighbourhoods and the spread of infection happening among the residents.

Visitors to long-term care and assisted living are required to rapid test as per the current schedule and wear a mask during the visits. Please use these protective layers to ensure that you, as a visitor, do not spread COVID. The latest variants of COVID have a more delayed response in the rapid test, showing negative for a longer period of time after exposure to COVID. With this in mind, please do not come to visit if you have a known exposure to COVID or are experiencing any symptoms of COVID. We ask you to err on the side of caution as we head into the fall.

The elderly remain at-risk when they do get COVID. Although we have greatly reduced the risk of death and hospitalization through the vaccination programs, we still see elderly residents suffer with the symptoms of COVID. In the apartments, residents who have not required additional support may be unable to carry out the activities of daily living, such as personal hygiene, preparing a meal or taking care of their medical needs during the time of infection. This impacts families as they step up to support their loved one with the same PPE precautions necessary to keep themselves safe.

In many ways, it feels as though life has gone “back to normal”, but it isn’t that way for the elderly, immune compromised or frail members of our communities. They continue to have a significant impact from the effects of COVID, whether it is with their own experience of being COVID positive or the social isolation impact that results from another member of their community becoming positive.

With this in mind, we need to once again, determine to do all that we can to keep our loved ones, their neighbours and the staff safe during this fall/winter COVID and FLU season. Thanks for continuing to be vigilant.

 

Additional reading:

From Doctors of BC – click for link

Take precautions

The COVID-19 virus can spike at any time and with more people returning to in-person work and children returning to the classroom, it’s important to prepare for an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the months ahead, along with the potential for new variants. One way to prepare is to follow the same precautions that have been in place since the start of the pandemic, to help reduce the risk of infection and the potential for spreading the virus:

  • Limit the size of indoor gatherings and/or socially distancing when possible
  • Wear a mask or double-layer masks to provide more protection
  • Frequently wash your hands

The best defense is vaccination

While the above precautions are important, the best defense is vaccination. That’s why experts are urging people to remain diligent when it comes to getting themselves and their loved ones vaccinated and boosted. And Health Canada just authorized the use of Moderna’s Omicron-targeting bivalent COVID-19 vaccine for those 18 years and older.

The “Spikevax Bivalent” booster dose is an adapted version of the original Moderna mRNA vaccine, and targets both the original strain of COVID-19 as well as the Omicron variant – essentially making it two vaccines in one. More than 10 million doses will be coming to Canada by the end of September; however, those who are eligible for a booster now and those who are at highest risk should not delay their planned vaccination or boost in anticipation of the bivalent vaccine.

Don’t forget about the flu

With fall also comes flu season. To help prevent putting extra burden on our already overwhelmed healthcare system, Canadians are also being urged to get the flu shot which not only protects against the influenza virus, but also helps reduce an individual’s chances of being infected with COVID-19 and the flu at the same time.

Combining COVID-19 vaccinations with the flu shot

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, it is safe for people aged 12 or older to get the flu shot at the same time as a COVID-19 vaccine, though the National Advisory Council on Immunization recommends children aged five to 11 have a 14-day interval between a COVID-19 shot and other vaccines.

COVID-19 continues to circulate worldwide and it’s important we all remain diligent in doing what we can to protect ourselves and those around us. For more information, visit the BC Centre for Disease Control’s COVID-19 resource page(link is external).