Auburn, NY – A nursing home in Auburn says a national group’s claim that the Covid-19 vaccine may have killed some residents is “blatantly false.”
A website post published Sunday by the Ron Paul Institute suggests without any evidence that the Covid-19 vaccine could cause 24 deaths at The Commons on St. Anthony caused. The report contains a link to a Syracuse.com story published on Saturday, in which it is reported that a Covid-19 outbreak in the 300-bed nursing home infected 137 residents, 24 of whom died. The story from Syracuse.com also reported that the nursing home, which is run by Loretto, has started vaccinating residents against the virus.
The nursing home says the group’s allegation is misleading, the outbreak started before the vaccine was administered and some of the residents who died were not vaccinated.
The post of Ron Paul Institute says:
‘It seems like things are working backwards at The Commons on St. Anthony Nursing Home in Auburn, New York. People who are vaccinated are supposed to reduce coronavirus deaths. Right? But at The Commons, it is reported that such deaths only occurred after residents began receiving coronavirus vaccinations. ”
Julie Sheedy, a Loretto official, said the site was disseminating “false and dangerously misleading information.”
She said the outbreak of the nursing home began in December before the Covid-19 vaccine became available. The first resident tested positive on Dec. 16 and an outbreak of additional cases was confirmed on Dec. 21, Sheedy said. The nursing home began vaccinating residents on Dec. 22.
“We definitely want the vaccines available earlier to prevent the devastation caused by this virus,” Sheedy said. ‘But the claims and timelines on this site are dangerously speculative and factually incorrect. We hope the community knows that they do not trust verified information – whether on the internet, social media or in person. ”
The first resident killed by Covid-19 in the nursing home was reported by the Cayuga County Health Department on Dec. 29. Sheedy said some of the residents who died were vaccinated, but declined to say how many.
“Given the incubation period we know for this virus, our facility was affected before vaccines were available to be administered,” she said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it takes several weeks for the body to build up immunity to Covid-19 after vaccination. The Covid-19 vaccines require two doses that are administered approximately four weeks apart. According to the CDC, someone can become infected with Covid-19 and become ill after being vaccinated if the vaccine has not had enough time to provide protection.
The site is named after former congressman, presidential candidate and medical doctor Ron Paul, who is known for his conservative and libertarian views. The website post has been widely shared on social media by some anti-vaccination groups.
Fox News host Laura Ingraham discusses an outbreak of Covid-19 in a nursing home in Auburn.
Conservative TV presenter Laura Ingraham also spoke on Monday night in her Fox News program about the outbreak of the nursing home in Auburn. “Why did an outbreak of Covid deaths at one nursing home coincide with an explosion in the distribution of vaccines?” she said with a screenshot of the Syracuse.com story in the background.
Ingraham then interviewed dr. Harvey Risch, a Yale epidemiologist who said the Covid-19 vaccine is effective in protecting people from Covid-19 disease and death, but does not prevent people who are vaccinated from spreading the virus to others.
According to the state, the Covid-19 death toll at The Commons increased to 32 from Monday.
Cayuga County was hit by a surge in Covid-19 cases after Thanksgiving. The province’s total death toll in Covid-19 increased to 58 from Tuesday, December 21.
Cayuga County on Tuesday confirmed 3,924 cases of Covid-19. The number has more than doubled in the last three weeks.
James T. Mulder deals with health and higher education. Do you have a news tip? Contact him at (315) 470-2245 or [email protected]