Evolution of the incidence of COVID-19 during the first five waves in residents and professionals of nursing homes in Normandy, France

• Published in: Aging clinical and experimental research 2023-04, Vol.35 (4), p.913-916
• Main Authors: Thibon, Pascal, Grenier, Carine, Erouart, Stéphane, Borgey, France, Le Hello, Simon, Martel, Mélanie
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Coronaviruses; Correlation analysis; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 vaccines; Cross-Sectional Studies; Disease transmission; Epidemics; Fatalities; France - epidemiology; Geriatrics/Gerontology; Homes for the Aged; Humans; Immunization; Incidence; Infections; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mortality; Nursing Homes; Older people; Pandemics; Public health; SARS-CoV-2; Sensitivity analysis; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Short Communication
• ISSN: 1720-8319; 1594-0667; 1720-8319
• DOI: 10.1007/s40520-023-02375-1

Background Older adults living in nursing homes (NH) paid a heavy price to the COVID-19 pandemic, despite early and often drastic prevention measures. Aims To study the characteristics and the impact of the pandemic on NH residents and professionals over 2 years. Methods Cross-sectional study of COVID-19 clusters among residents and/or professionals in NH, from March 2020 to February 2022, in Normandy, France. We used data from the French mandatory reporting system, and cross-correlation analysis. Results The weekly proportion of NH with clusters was strongly correlated with population incidence ( r  > 0.70). Attack rates among residents and professionals were significantly lower in period 2 (vaccination rate in residents ≥ 50%) compared with periods 1 (waves 1 and 2) and 3 (Omicron variant ≥ 50%). Among residents, mortality and case fatality rates decreased drastically during periods 2 and 3. Conclusion Our study provides figures on the evolution of the pandemic in NH.