- In a real-world test, an mRNA-based vaccine protected care-home residents and staff against a new SARS-CoV-2 variant.
- On 1 March, an unvaccinated health-care worker at a Kentucky care home tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.
- At that time, 90% of the home’s residents and 53% of its health-care workers had received their second dose of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine.
- The vast majority had received their second shot more than 2 weeks before the worker’s infection was identified.
A recent news article published in the Nature reveals that a care-home COVID outbreak shows a vaccine’s powers.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Alyson Cavanaugh at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and her colleagues report that 46 of the 199 people at the care home were infected during the outbreak.
The researchers estimate that the vaccine was 86.5% and 87.1% effective at preventing COVID-19 among residents and staff, respectively, who were more than 2 weeks past their second dose.
The shots were even more effective at preventing hospitalization, although one vaccinated resident died.
Genome sequencing of samples
Genome sequencing of samples from 27 individuals identified a variant circulating during the outbreak known as R.1, which contains mutations that have been linked to increased transmissibility and immune evasion.
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Source: Nature
