Charlotte nursing homes see vaccine victory: No COVID deaths in past month

The coronavirus has not claimed the life of a single nursing home resident in Mecklenburg County over the last month — a remarkable testament to the success of the COVID-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use.

Residents and staff at long-term care facilities were among the first high-risk people eligible to get their shots, with the goal of blunting the devastating spread of the virus that for months fueled outbreaks and soaring death tallies.

“This is really strong and encouraging news and further evidence of how highly effective the vaccines are at preventing severe complications, infections and death,” Mecklenburg Deputy Public Health Director Raynard Washington told county commissioners Tuesday evening.

In the same time period when no nursing home coronavirus-related deaths were reported, about 25 deaths occurred in the community, according to an Observer analysis of public health data.

Vaccination statistics from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services show: 64% of people between the age 65 and 74 are fully vaccinated in Mecklenburg. Of those 75 years old or older, 72% are fully vaccinated.

Almost all deaths in Mecklenburg since the start of the pandemic have involved residents ages 60 and older. But 14 deaths occurred in adults ages 20 to 39, and 112 deaths were among adults ages 40 to 59. Twenty-five deaths involved county residents with no underlying chronic illnesses, health officials report.

Just over 41% of all coronavirus deaths in the county have been linked to outbreaks at long-term care facilities, compared to almost 59% out in the community, the latest county public health data show. That’s a marked improvement since last fall, when nearly 55% of all deaths were tied to long-term care facilities.

Fewer COVID-19 outbreaks

Over the last three months, dozens of nursing homes have emerged from COVID outbreaks. Residents, intensely isolated for a year as facilities imposed strict lockdowns, can once again greet family, friends and other visitors from the comfort of their rooms.

As recently as late January, the number of active outbreaks at long-term care facilities in Mecklenburg hit 63. This week, only 11 facilities are experiencing active COVID-19 outbreaks, Washington said.

“We’d like it to be zero, but not guaranteed,” Washington wrote on Twitter, indicating lingering outbreaks could be a result of some residents and staff refusing the vaccine. The vaccines are also not 100% effective, meaning there’s a minor chance people who are immunized could still contract the virus.

“The outbreaks are contained, but 2 cases constitutes an outbreak, which takes several weeks to close,” Washington said.

Immunity building in nursing homes

Nursing homes are benefiting from their own “herd immunity” bubble, and health officials are anxious to see Mecklenburg reach the target threshold, estimated to be near 70 or 80%.

Only 17% of Mecklenburg residents are fully vaccinated and 26.3% are at least partially vaccinated as of late Tuesday, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported.

After weeks of improving and stabilized trends, some of Mecklenburg’s key metrics — including the new daily caseload and COVID-19 positivity rate are “starting to creep back up a little bit,” Washington said.

But for now, hospitalization and deaths — considered lagging indicators that trail several weeks behind a bout of new infections — are stable.

This story was originally published April 7, 2021 at 5:00 PM.