& Covid-19

January 11, 2022

Home Care & Covid-19

Covid-19 has been around since late 2019 and despite the world’s best efforts it’s still here and doesn’t look to get going away any time soon. Over the past 2+ years, the home care experts and professionals at Compassionate Care have both learned and evolved our home care services so that we can ensure our Connecticut home care patients can continue to receive the highest quality at home care in a way that’s safe for them as well as safe for our home care workers. Here is a list of some of the more important lessons we have learned from out experiences providing home care and live in home care during the pandemic.

Is home care for seniors safe during the pandemic?

It is perfectly safe for seniors or individuals with disabilities to receive high quality home care from a qualified and professional home care service provider. The Covid-19 virus has proven to be more dangerous to seniors and elderly individuals more so than any other demographic which is why the home care experts at Compassionate Care take every and all possible precautions when their home care workers enter their client’s home. All of our home care aid workers are fully vaccinated, religiously use anti-bacterial soaps and wear a certified N95 mask from the moment they knock on the client’s door to the moment they drive away. Compassionate Care in Brandford CT does not take short cuts when it comes to our client’s safety.

Available Covid-19 Vaccines

There are currently 3 covid-19 vaccines available at the moment. They are from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are similar in that they both rely upon mRNA technology while Johnson & Johnson utilizes a more traditional viral vector vaccine technology. We will do future blog posts about the two different technologies, but the purpose of this article is to let you know that there are in fact 3 different Covid-19 vaccines available that utilize two different technologies. Which vaccine you choose to get is really between you and your doctor because although no single vaccine technology is better than the other, they do have the potential to affect people differently which is why it is important to discuss it with your doctor. At Compassionate Care in Connecticut, all of our visiting home health care workers are vaccinated and up to date with their vaccine status.

What Is Fully Vaccinated?

The term fully vaccinated is a terminology utilized by the CDC to determine if an individual has received the proper dosage of Covid-19 vaccine based on which vaccine was used. This vaccination status is not determined by individual states like Connecticut. As of January 11 2022, both users of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine are considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after they receive their second dose. For the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, fully vaccinated status is considered 2 weeks after the 1st dose. All of the visiting home care aids at Compassionate Care are at fully vaccinated status and will continue to take any and all actions necessary to continue that status as the virus and the guidelines associated with the virus continue to evolve.

Does the vaccine prevent the spread of Covid-19?

No. Based on the current Omnicron variant of the Covid-19 virus, the vaccine has not proven to be an affective way of preventing the spread of the virus. This particular variant is a lot more mild but much more contagious. Social media is filled with false and mis-information which is why it’s important to understand that just because you are vaccinated, you can still catch, carry, and spread the Covid-19 virus. At Compassionate Care in North Haven CT, our home care workers take every available precaution when come to the home of one of our home care clients. Every home care worker is wearing an N95 surgical mask from the time they knock on the door to the time they leave the residence. We also provide N95 masks to our patients when necessary to ensure maximum protection.

Do masks help stop the spread of Covid-19?

Yes. Wearing a mask and social distancing were the two best ways to avoid spreading and contracting Covid-19 back when it started in 2019 an continues to be the best way to combat the virus in 2022. Not all masks are created equal. The N95 surgical mask made by 3M have proven to be the best mask option. Home made cloth masks or those fancy cloth masks with slogans and logos on them are not only less effective, but their effectiveness is so low you are better off without one. At Compassionate Care in Connecticut, our home care workers all come equipped with N95 masks for themselves as well as for their clients. Keeping our clients safe while providing high quality home care services is our top priority. When it comes to safety, there is no compromise.

Are home Covid-19 tests accurate?

Unfortunately, when it comes to home Covid-19 tests the jury is still out on whether or not they are accurate. They are a bit more complicated than a home pregnancy test or insulin test for diabetics which could lead to a majority of the false positives they have been producing. Because a home covid test has so many steps, it only takes a single mis-step during the testing process to cause a false positive or a false negative. Because of these reasons, a standard PCR Covid-19 test which is available at thousands of testing locations throughout the country is the superior option. If a home covid-19 test is all you have available then it’s still a good option.

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