Doctor and senior woman wearing facemasks during coronavirus and flu outbreak. Virus protection. COVID-2019..

A New York nursing home is fighting back against “blatantly false” claims made by a national group that one of the COVID-19 vaccines is responsible for an outbreak at the facility. 

The Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, founded by former U.S. libertarian lawmaker Ron Paul, on Sunday implied that administering coronavirus vaccines to residents resulted in an ongoing outbreak at The Commons on St. Anthony, in Auburn, NY. 

A spokesman for Loretto, the operator of the 297-bed skilled nursing facility, called the group’s claims “false and dangerously misleading information,” according to local media outlets.

The operator noted that the outbreak started after its first resident was confirmed to have COVID-19 on Dec. 16, with several other positive tests coming about five days later. The facility began vaccinating residents Dec. 29. 

“Given the incubation period that we know for this virus, our facility was affected before vaccines were available to be administered,” the Loretto spokeswoman said. 

Overall, 32 of the facility’s residents have died from COVID-19 and nearly 140 became infected with it during the outbreak. 

“We certainly wish the vaccines had been available sooner to help prevent the devastation caused by this virus,” the spokeswoman said. 

“But the claims and the timelines on this website are dangerously speculative and factually incorrect. We hope the community knows not to trust unverified information — whether on the web, social media, or heard in-person,” she added.