diff --git a/ct/immich.sh b/ct/immich.sh
index 321889a09..77500920c 100644
--- a/ct/immich.sh
+++ b/ct/immich.sh
@@ -127,6 +127,11 @@ EOF
     VCHORD_RELEASE="1.0.0"
     [[ -f ~/.vchord_version ]] && mv ~/.vchord_version ~/.vectorchord
     if check_for_gh_release "VectorChord" "tensorchord/VectorChord" "${VCHORD_RELEASE}" "updated together with Immich after testing"; then
+      # dead tuples in smart_search/face_search make the REINDEX below fail with
+      # "missing chunk ... for toast value" on VectorChord 1.0.0 (#15588); must vacuum
+      # while still on the old extension version, a post-upgrade vacuum errors instead
+      $STD sudo -u postgres psql -d immich -c "VACUUM (ANALYZE) smart_search;"
+      $STD sudo -u postgres psql -d immich -c "VACUUM (ANALYZE) face_search;"
       fetch_and_deploy_gh_release "VectorChord" "tensorchord/VectorChord" "binary" "${VCHORD_RELEASE}" "/tmp" "postgresql-16-vchord_*_$(arch_resolve).deb"
       systemctl restart postgresql
       $STD sudo -u postgres psql -d immich -c "ALTER EXTENSION vector UPDATE;"