Story By: Juan Mayes, Sub-Editor: Joana Mihajlovska, Agency: Newsflash
Nine residents from a Spanish retirement home have died after an outbreak 10 days after getting the Pfizer vaccine left all but one of the 78 residents infected with COVID-19.
The tragic outbreak happened at the El Salvador care home in the municipality of Lagartera in the province of Toledo in the Spanish autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha.
The centre’s residents and staff members were injected with the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on 13th January.
Six days later, 10 residents started showing symptoms of the virus but it was attributed as side-effects of the vaccine.
As the number of patients with signs of COVID-19 started growing and staff members started calling in ill, the centre decided to isolate the residents and contact their families to inform them of the situation.
After conducting PCR tests, they found that all but one of their 78 residents had been infected with SARS-CoV-2 which led to the several deaths, according to local media.
El Digital Castilla La Mancha recently updated the death toll to nine people according to a report today 2nd February. (https://bit.ly/3rei8Hn)
The centre, which is run by the NGO ‘Mensajeros de la Paz’ (‘Messengers of Peace’), issued a statement saying they will apply the second dose of the vaccine for residents on 3rd February. A PCR test will be conducted two days after that.
Mensajeros de la Paz general director Sergio Mella told Spanish radio station COPE, 12 members of staff are still inactive but are recovering well and will have to wait for a negative PCR test before they can return to work. (https://bit.ly/3reGzo2)
Local media said 33 staff members from the residence were infected.
Mella added he believes the outbreak was caused by either one of the people administering the vaccines who was asymptomatic or a worker at the centre.
However, he said he didn’t think the cause of the outbreak was the COVID-19 jab “at all” and that they are delighted to vaccinate their residents, adding: “The sooner everyone receives their vaccine, the better”.
It is the first time the centre has been hit by COVID-19 after already going through two waves.
According to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University, Spain has reported 2,822,805 cases of the virus leading to 59,081 related deaths.
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