Friday, January 15, 2021
Efforts Continue to Bring Vaccine Clinics to More US Senior Communities & Residents
At present, nearly 70% of our communities have their COVID-19 vaccine clinics scheduled, but if you’ve yet to receive notification regarding vaccine clinic scheduling in your community, rest easier knowing that new clinics are being arranged every day.
Another week into the nationwide vaccination process and the focus remains on the country’s high-risk (Priority 1A) population, which includes residents of long-term care communities like nursing homes, Assisted Living and Memory Care communities, and others.
Across the nation, concerted efforts to speed up vaccine delivery and administration are continuing at the local, state and federal levels. With manufacturers moving full speed ahead on production, new vaccination sites are being established, and vaccine doses once being held over for required, second doses are now being shipped to allow more seniors and healthcare/essential personnel to begin their own processes of COVID-19 vaccination as well.
Each and every day, pharmacy partners are working hard to accommodate the most at-risk populations, a process which will continue throughout the weeks and months ahead. Walgreens and PharMerica, for example, report that there are roughly 40,000 Assisted Living communities in the US, and with approximately 3 million long-term care residents and an estimated 3 million more team members all requiring priority vaccination, there are more than 6 million (initial) doses to plan and execute.
We share everyone’s desire and eagerness to begin (and complete) the vaccination process, but continue to stress the importance of patience, understanding and continued vigilance amidst the ongoing threat of the virus. As promised, we will share any news regarding vaccine clinics with all members of the impacted communities as soon as that information is made available by our pharmacy partners. At this time, specific timelines cannot be set for everyone, but if you’ve yet to have clinics scheduled for your community, rest assured that they are coming soon.