The first wave of the pandemic particularly affected seniors living in collective living environments. These people were sacrificed to preserve access to hospitals. Vaccination protected these people during the third, fourth and fifth waves. For this last wave, targeted efforts made it possible to rapidly administer a booster dose of the vaccine to people in collective settings to protect them from the Omicron variant. But elderly people living at home have this time been forgotten and are currently paying the price.
Posted yesterday at 9:00 a.m.
Quebec was the scene, during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, of a real carnage in CHSLDs, intermediate resources and seniors’ residences. Remember that more than 75% of the deaths that occurred during this first wave were people living in these collective living environments. More than 5,000 deaths have been recorded in these environments, including nearly 4,000 in CHSLDs. One in 10 people in CHSLDs died of COVID-19, which puts Quebec ahead of Canadian provinces and other industrialized countries for this abnormally high rate of mortality in residential establishments.
The coroner’s inquest revealed disturbing facts about the handling of the first months of the pandemic. It was believed that CHSLDs had simply been “forgotten” in the crisis preparedness strategy that prioritized hospitals. However, we learn from the testimony of the DD Jocelyne Sauvé, of the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ), that this organization had warned the Ministry in February that this virus was going to particularly affect seniors in residential settings. The government claimed to have only become aware of the risk in CHSLDs in March 2020. Who did not forward the INSPQ’s opinion? Who has not informed government authorities of the risk? Who has not taken the appropriate decisions to protect these vulnerable people? Who hasn’t cared about the elders?
Since the coroner does not have the mandate to shed light on responsibility or guilt in his inquests, we will not have answers to these questions. The persons responsible, accountable, or even guilty in this affair will remain unknown, unless a specific investigation is launched on this subject, which is unlikely in the current context.
The arrival of vaccination has made it possible to protect the elderly, particularly those living in collective living environments. The vaccination strategy rightly prioritized those people who were more than 95% protected. Seniors at home were then prioritized and they largely responded by receiving the first doses of the life-saving vaccine.
The management of the fifth wave still shows the authorities’ recklessness in the face of the risk for the elderly, this time those living at home. Thanks to the reminder administered very quickly in collective living environments, the people housed were relatively spared.
It is the seniors living at home who are suffering this time. Since the start of the Omicron wave, nearly two-thirds of deaths (1,003 out of 1,602) have occurred in the elderly at home. While death rates in congregate living settings have dropped significantly in this latest wave, that of people at home has almost doubled compared to the first wave.
The reason is very simple: these people are not adequately protected by the booster dose of the vaccine. Indeed, barely 75% of people over the age of 70 are fully vaccinated on the island of Montreal, which leaves more than 50,000 vulnerable people at very high risk of hospitalization and death. It is probably the same situation elsewhere in Quebec.
Once again, people at home are paying the price for a flagrant lack of planning. The highly contagious variant and the high community contamination during this wave should have alerted the authorities to the risk faced by seniors living at home. The slightest contact with the outdoors or a visit from a parent or caregiver puts them at high risk of becoming infected. We should have vaccinated them quickly and used proactive strategies to reach them, especially those who are isolated or losing their autonomy. Those who are unaware of the risk of this variant and the protective effect of the booster dose. Those who don’t have internet and who wait hours on the phone to get an appointment. Those who do not have means of transport to go to the vaccination centres.
Under the leadership of D.r Lionel Carmant, we have been deploying specific strategies for the past few days to vaccinate resistant or careless young people. This approach monopolizes network workers who are no longer available to the elderly. Who cares about it in the absence of Minister Marguerite Blais? Who prioritizes them? We know them, why not be proactive and contact them? Why not fund transportation to vaccination centers?
I call on everyone. Doctors, revive your patients. Pharmacists, call your customers. Home support workers, contact your users. Community organizations, help your participants. Citizens, get information from the elderly in the neighborhood or from relatives. There is danger in delay. Another carnage must be avoided by vaccinating these forgotten vulnerable people as soon as possible.