Coronavirus: Positive cases among vaccinated elderly very mild

Fully vaccinated pensioners who got infected with Covid-19 this week but are asymptomatic prove the vaccines’ efficacy, a member of the government’s epidemiological team said on Thursday.

Commenting on the 14 care home residents in Nicosia who tested positive for coronavirus earlier this week, Zoe Dorothea Pana, confirmed that most of them are asymptomatic or show very mild symptoms.

The residents initially tested positive after a rapid antigen test on Tuesday and this was later confirmed with a PCR test. They received both doses of the coronavirus vaccine in February.

The mild symptoms of the virus on people who received the jab demonstrate the important role of vaccinations against the pandemic, Pana said.

“This proves the effectiveness of the vaccines to prevent serious illness and death,” Pana told the Cybc.

“We must all understand that our main weapon is and will be the vaccinations for the pandemic to steadily subside.”

She added that similar cases were recorded in Belgium, Spain and Italy, of care home residents who were vaccinated and got infected but did not experience serious symptoms.

Private and state care homes nationwide have been in contact with a specialised team of the health ministry to establish a functional health protocol for the facilities and report any gaps or difficulties of the staff in implementing the measures.

Pana, who was in charge of the care home checks, said the owners managed to ensure the protection of their residents against coronavirus.

According to reports, the elderly patients were infected following positive cases among the staff.

The risk of infection after receiving an anti-Covid vaccine varies from five to 12 per cent “depending on the type of the vaccine”, professor of microbiology/molecular virology at the University of Nicosia Medical School Dr Petros Karayiannis told the Cyprus Mail.

Meanwhile, records of deaths and hospitalisations of unvaccinated elderly patients continue according to the daily announcements by the health ministry.