COVID-19 vaccination rates in every residential aged care facility in Australia have been published in an effort to keep older Australians safe from serious COVID-19 illness.
The COVID-19 vaccination rate for residents over the past 12 months
has been published for 2,609 residential aged care facilities around Australia.
The data shows that:
- 97 facilities have a vaccination rate of less than 10%.
- 73 facilities have a vaccination rate of 10-20%.
- 308 facilities have a vaccination rate of 20-40%.
- 527 facilities have a vaccination rate of 40-60%.
- 892 facilities – or more than a third – have a vaccination rate of 60-80%.
- 710 facilities – or more than a quarter – have a vaccination rate of 80% or higher.
Narraweena Grove Care Community and Montana Nursing Home at Mosman are both listed in the 10-20% only bracket.
Manly Vale Nursing Home is listed in the 30-40% only bracket.
Elizabeth Jenkins Place Aged Care Centre and Bupa Seaforth are both listed at only 40-50%.
Calvary Corymbia, at Belrose, is listed at 50-60% only, as is Estia Health Manly Vale and Marcus Loane House, at Warriewood and the RSL Anzac Village at Narrabeen.
Uniting Wesley Gardens Belrose, Avalon House Avalon Beach and Peter Cosgrove House at Narrabeen and Uniting Wesley Heights Manly and Manly Hillside Care Centre at North Manly are also listed at only 60-70%.
Narrabeen Glades Care Community, Warriewood, is listed at only 70-80%, as is Pacific Lodge Aged Care at Collaroy and Arcare Warriewood.
Scalabrini Allambie Heights is listed at 80-90%, along with George Miockler House at Mona Vale, Allambie Heights Village Residential Aged Care Facility, Alexander Aged Care at Brookvale, and Bayview Treetops Care Community.
Alexander Campbell House, Forestville, Terrey Hills Nursing Home, Mona Vale House Nursing Home and Mona Vale Care Community are listed at 90-100%.
The Albanese Government and Commonwealth authorities have stated they are using the publication of the vaccination rates as an opportunity to call on residential aged care providers to urgently redouble their efforts to provide residents with COVID-19 and flu vaccinations.
It is recommended that people over 75 years receive a COVID-19 vaccination every 6 months and people 65 to 74 years are eligible for a booster every 6 months and recommended to receive a vaccination every 12 months. There is no longer an interval between last infection and receiving your booster.
Latest data published on 21 June shows that only 38% of residents in aged care homes have received a COVID-19 booster in the past six months, with 161 more outbreaks of COVID-19 in residential aged care homes compared to the same time last year meaning greater risk of severe disease for those residents who have not had a recent booster.
COVID-19 and flu are a concern for older people who are at greater risk of serious disease. Aged care residents are particularly vulnerable to respiratory illnesses because of their age and health care needs.
From 29 April this year, for the first time, the Albanese Government began funding pharmacists to provide free flu and other National Immunisation Program (NIP) vaccines on site at residential aged care facilities and disability homes.
The National Immunisation Program Vaccinations in Pharmacy Program (NIPVIP) ensures more Australians have convenient and affordable access to lifesaving vaccines, ensuring some of our most vulnerable Australians are given free vaccines to protect them from influenza ahead of winter.
Facilities with vaccination rates identified as low have been contacted by the Department of Health and Aged Care call centre to remind them of vaccination recommendations for residents and seeking information about their vaccination plans over coming weeks.
Additionally, the Boards of Residential Aged Care Facilities have received correspondence from the Chief Medical Officer and Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner reminding them of their obligations to protect residents.
To further ensure boosters are being prioritised in residential facilities, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission is making a series of unannounced site visits across the country.
The Hon Anika Wells MP, Minister for Aged Care, stated on Sunday June 23:
“We’re funding GPs and pharmacists to provide free flu and COVID-19 vaccines at aged care homes, ensuring protection of residents from COVID-19 and influenza ahead of winter.
“Residential aged care providers have a responsibility to work with these health care professionals to make timely vaccines easily available to residents, and to have robust infection, prevention and control measures in place.
“If you have a family member, friend or loved one living in an aged care home, please talk to them and their care team about getting COVID-19 and flu vaccines now.
“It is greatly concerning to me, as it no doubt is to family, friends and Australians everywhere, that there are 170 facilities where fewer than 1 in 5 residents are immunised against COVID-19.”
NSW Health's latest available NSW respiratory surveillance - COVID-19 and influenza surveillance summary for the week ending June 22 2024 records 9,263(13%) cases of Covid in the year to date for the Northern Sydney Local Health District, with 640 added in that week.
Of Covid cases across NSW, 40,723(56%) are female in the YTD and 31,530(44%) are male with a further 2,789 females in the week ending June 22 and 2,053 males.
A total for the year to date 7,621(11%) are listed in the 60-69 aged bracket, with 462 in the week ending June 22, 9,539(13%) in 70-79 and 609 new cases, 10,067(14%) in the 80-89 age bracket, with 697 new cases recorded, and 5,128(7%) in 90+ years, with a further 397 that week.
In a report released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on
Friday June 28 2024 the ABS stated:
While deaths associated with COVID-19 were lower in January 2024 compared with January 2023, numbers over these months in February and March have been comparable across these years.
Deaths involving influenza and RSV were higher in each of the first three months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2022 and 2023.
In NSW 450 people have died from Covid-19 in 2024 (to May), the highest number across all states.
The data records the highest death rates across Australia from Covid-19 are occurring in older residents.
Conversely Influenza activity is at a high level and continues to increase, with the cases highest in children and lowest in our older population.
In 0 to 19 year olds 6,699 children caught the flu in the week ending June 22, 2024, with the highest numbers in children aged 5-9 (2,377) and those aged 10-19 (2545).
Influenza activity is at a high level and continues to increase, with the number of presentations to emergency departments increasing and the number of influenza notifications also increasing. Test positivity for influenza, which is a key indicator of activity, has increased to 18.9%. RSV activity, which is still high, is slowly declining. Pertussis and pneumonia continue to be unseasonably high in school aged children.
With the commencement of the Winter School Holidays this Friday, July 5, the spread of Influenza may be inhibited.
