’Unacceptable’: Doctors raise alarm as Covid runs rampant in Aussie aged care facilities

The Covid death rate of our elderly in residential care is double that of the pandemic peak. Experts are blaming poor vaccination rates. Use our interactive tool to search vaccination rates of aged care facilities near you.

Twice as many elderly Australians in residential care have died from Covid in the past ­Two-and-a-half years than at the peak of the pandemic, with ­experts pointing the blame at “really, really poor vaccination” rates in the country’s aged-care homes.

Australia recorded 2415 Covid-related deaths in residential aged care during the pandemic between February 18, 2020, to May 19, 2022.

Since then, Australia has ­recorded 4778 Covid-related deaths in aged care between May 27, 2022, and January 16 this year.

Latest Covid vaccination data reveals more than 100 aged-care facilities have fewer than 10 per cent of their residents vaccinated against the virus. More than 200 other aged-care facilities had less than 20-30 per cent of their ­patients vaccinated either in the past six months or in the past 12 months.

It is recommended that ­people over the age of 75 get a Covid booster every six months.

As of January 22 this year, 70 per cent of aged care residents had a booster in the past 12 months while 43 per cent of those over the age of 75 had one in the past six months.

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ aged care national chair Anthony Marinucci said the rate of vaccination for Australia’s most vulnerable was “totally unacceptable”.

“Most people living in aged care are quite complex in their medical needs, otherwise they would be at home, it makes them high risk patients,” Dr Marinucci said. “One of the major issues is a really, really poor vaccination rate. It’s really not good enough and it’s significantly contributing to the morbidity of these people.”

About a 100 facilities had a vaccination rate of less than 10 per cent.

Dr Marinucci said the lagging rates were driven by ­people being tired of getting vaccinations after the pandemic and a lack of awareness around the impact of Covid on elderly people.

Australian Medical Association president Danielle McMullen said the low vaccination rates showed the issue was more “systemic” and not about vaccine refusal.

“Early in the pandemic we had very little Covid in the community whereas now we do have quite a lot of infection in the community … the vaccine rates are disappointing,” Dr McMullen said.

Coalition health and aged care spokesman Anne Ruston accused Labor of failing to protect the most vulnerable Australians.“We have heard nothing from this government for more than two years on the steps they are taking to support the aged care sector and our older Australians through outbreaks,” she said.

A government spokesman defended its record on Covid in aged care, pointing to a ­declining mortality rate. “The Covid-19 case fatality in aged care has reduced significantly from 33 per cent in 2020 to 3.3 per cent in 2022 and 1.3 per cent in January 2025,” he said.

Originally published as ’Unacceptable’: Doctors raise alarm as Covid runs rampant in Aussie aged care facilities