May 20, 2021

Incident SARS-CoV-2 Infection among mRNA-Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Nursing Home Residents

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Vaccines and Immunity

Keywords (Tags): congregate settings, vaccination, vaccine breakthrough, vaccine effectiveness

• The incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infections among a sample of residents of nursing homes in the US who received an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (n=18,242, 80% Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine) decreased from 4.5% within 0-14 days after the first dose to 1.4% within 15-28 days after the first dose. Cases occurring 14 or more days after the second dose among those who received it (n=14,669) was even lower at 0.3%. Incident cases among unvaccinated residents (n=3,990) also decreased from 4.3% within 0-14 days after the first vaccination clinic to 0.3% at >42 days after the clinic. The authors suggest that high vaccination coverage, along with existing mitigation measures, conferred a certain degree of herd immunity among unvaccinated residents.

White et al. (May 19, 2021). Incident SARS-CoV-2 Infection among mRNA-Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Nursing Home Residents. New England Journal of Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMc2104849