A health worker at Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center receives a vaccine against COVID-19 on December 16, 2020 in Portland, Oregon. The first rounds of Pfizer vaccine were administered in Oregon on Wednesday.
Nathan Howard | Getty Images
For nursing homes across the country, the coronavirus pandemic has been especially marked by isolation, illness and loss. On Friday, CVS Health and Walgreens will launch vaccines against Covid-19 for residents and staff at these long-term care centers, making them the first Americans to receive the vaccines.
Walgreens said its pharmacists will administer the shots at residences and assisted living centers in Ohio, Connecticut and Florida. CVS said it will provide them at the Ohio and Connecticut facilities.
The two companies will expand to facilities in other states next week.
Deploying vaccines in long-term care centers is one of the first steps in a national effort to reach the most at-risk Americans and then the general public. It’s a faster start for companies, which were hoping to start vaccinations next week. Health workers, including those working in emergency rooms and intensive care units, began receiving vaccines against Covid-19 on Monday. Nursing homes and assisted living facilities have also been placed at the top of the list of priorities, as they are home to older and sick Americans who have been especially affected by the coronavirus.
Less than 1 percent of the U.S. population lives in long-term care centers, but accounts for nearly 40 percent of all Covid-19 deaths in the country as of Dec. 10, according to The Covid Tracking Project , an effort led by The Atlantic to understand the impacts of coronavirus.
Vaccines will eventually be available at neighborhood pharmacies and grocery stores. Walgreens and CVS Health officials said they expected to make shots of Covid-19 for the general public in their stores in early spring.
CVS and Walgreens will play a key role in distribution to long-term care facilities, having reached agreements with the federal government in October to run the site’s clinics. Its pharmacists and technicians will initially use the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, which has been approved for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration. The Modern vaccine is expected to get FDA approval for distribution and use in the coming days. Both vaccines require two doses.
Chris Cox, senior vice president of CVS and the company’s liaison with Operation Warp Speed, a federal effort to help develop, distribute and administer Covid vaccines, said he tracked Covid-19 data during the first months of the pandemic and he was worried. by the disproportionate number of deaths in the residences.
He said the United States “can take a hit” on the impact of vaccinating coronavirus quickly and safely on such a vulnerable population.
For CVS, Friday’s vaccinations will also include the first. Chief of Operations Jon Roberts and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont will see a resident get the first shot provided by his staff at a specialized nursing facility in West Hartford.
Through a spokesman, CVS said it plans to vaccinate about 500 people at 3 facilities in Connecticut and about 1,000 people at 4 facilities in Ohio on Friday according to figures provided by the long-term care facilities. time limit.
More than 40,000 long-term care centers have chosen CVS to provide the vaccines. Next week, the company’s pharmacists and technicians expect to dose the facility in 12 states, including Connecticut and Ohio.
Walgreens expects to give vaccines to nearly 3 million residents and staff at 35,000 long-term care centers. On Friday and Saturday, a company spokeswoman said she plans to send equipment to eight to ten facilities. Next week it will provide vaccines at approximately 800 long-term care centers in 12 states.