Despite vaccine, Redstone Highlands reports covid spike at Greensburg facility

About 1,000 employees and staff members at Redstone Highlands’ three skilled nursing facilities have their first and, in some cases, second doses of the coronavirus vaccine.

With the facilities on their way to being protected, president and CEO John Dickson said it was a shock to learn the virus made its way back in. An outbreak of covid-19 was reported in the Greensburg center, where 15 residents and three staff members tested positive during the past week. One resident died.

“This has been surprising to us,” Dickson said.

About 300 staff and residents at the Greensburg facility were Redstone Highlands’ first to be vaccinated on Jan. 11, followed by others in Murrysville and North Huntingdon. Immunization clinics at Redstone Highlands set for later this month will provide second shots to those who need them and initial doses for others. They are getting the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine under the federal government’s Operation Warp Speed.

Dickson said some of those who tested positive recently had received their first shot. Vice president and chief operating officer Vicki Loucks said in a letter to families that others included people who had gotten their second vaccine dose shortly before testing positive and recent new admissions who hadn’t been immunized.

Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines require two shots for maximum immunity. The two vaccines are 94-95% effective in preventing illness in those who have gotten both doses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. After the second dose, it takes a few weeks for a person’s body to build immunity to the virus.

It remains unclear whether those who are vaccinated can contribute to spreading the virus even if they don’t get sick. As a result, health officials encourage continued social distancing and wearing of face coverings.

Progress is being made in getting the vaccine to skilled nursing and long-term care facilities in Pennsylvania. Department of health spokeswoman Maggi Barton said both CVS and Walgreens have administered all of their first doses and the majority of second doses in Pennsylvania’s skilled nursing facilities under Operation Warp Speed. CVS has administered nearly 180,000 shots in 510 facilities. Walgreens has delivered 29,250 immunizations at 94 locations,

Both pharmacy chains are nearing completion of initial clinics at the state’s long-term care facilities with more scheduled during the next week, Barton said.

Less than 20% of the 2.4 million vaccine doses sent to Pennsylvania so far have been allocated for residents and workers in nursing homes, assisted living communities and personal care homes, according to the Pennsylvania Health Care Association.

“Every day without a vaccine in our long-term care communities is one more day in which we risk the lives of our most vulnerable residents,” said PHCA president and CEO Zach Shamberg, who testified Monday at a House Democratic Policy Committee hearing.

Long-term care residents in Pennsylvania started getting vaccinated Dec. 28, which was two weeks after the state sent vaccines to hospitals, Shamberg noted. That was the same day neighboring West Virginia finished giving the first round of vaccines to every long-term care resident and staff, he said in criticizing Pennsylvania’s vaccine rollout plan.

‘Protocols in place’

Residents who tested positive at Redstone Highlands’ Greensburg location are being cared for in a special wing and negative pressure rooms. A few have been hospitalized, Loucks wrote. Three staff members at the North Huntingdon facility also tested positive for the virus recently.

“We’re managing it appropriately,” Dickson said. “We have all the protocols in place.”

Regular testing is ongoing at the facilities as required by the state.

In Westmoreland County, 22,000 people have the first dose of the vaccine and 9,660 people have received both doses, according to state data. The county has about 364,000 residents. The number of positive virus cases associated with long-term care facilities statewide has been decreasing in recent weeks after spiking in November and December.