Brown University to study COVID-19 vaccines, boosters in nursing home residents
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Researchers at Brown University will study waning COVID-19 effectiveness among nursing home residents to further inform the country’s booster shot rollout. The two-year study, aimed to inform real-time policy decisions, was awarded $4.9 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
"Given rising case counts of the Delta variant, we need to know as soon as possible who needs a vaccine booster shot and when they need it," Stefan Gravenstein, co-lead investigator on the project and a professor of geriatric medicine at Brown University, said in a statement. "This information on how specific immunity to SARS-CoV-2 infection declines with aging, disease and in long-term care residents is critically important for developing a booster strategy based on real-time data in this population." Gravenstein and a team of researchers' recent preliminary findings noted a rise in breakthrough infections and outbreaks among nursing homes while reporting an over 85% decline in neutralizing antibody levels six months following vaccination with the Pfizer jab, regardless of prior infection, among nursing home residents and healthcare workers.More Related News
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