LOUTH: Two staff members who were vaccinated against COVID-19 at a nursing home in county Louth tested positive. The Dealgan House nursing home in Dundalk said the two tested positive during a routine serial testing at the facility.
Following the detection of two cases, the nursing home has announced that all indoor visits have been suspended.
All the nursing home residents and staff at the facility were fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The nursing home stated that both staff members who tested positive received their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine in February. However, it was also reported that neither of them had shown any symptoms.
Nursing home staff and residents were among the first group to be vaccinated against corona virus.
Dr. Cillian De Gascun, a virologist, said there is no need to be concerned about confirmed COVID-19 cases among those who have been fully vaccinated. “The vaccine is primarily intended to prevent severe illness, hospitalisation and death,” Dr. De Gascun said.
“The way the vaccine works is it primes our immune system, so for our immune system then to fight off the subsequent infection, it needs to see the virus again. So the infection does occur, but it’s typically milder, it’s typically shorter, and the immune system kicks in quickly and clears it,” he explained.
“Just because somebody has been vaccinated and gets an infection, that doesn’t necessarily mean the vaccine has failed, it doesn’t necessarily mean the vaccine hasn’t worked. Because, if they hadn’t been vaccinated, we don’t know what would have happened to them if they got that infection,” Dr. De Gascun added.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly says serial testing of nursing home staff have dropped by 0.11%. This is the lowest rate since the start of last summer.
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