ANN ARBOR, MI – Doses of the Modern COVID-19 vaccine were given to residents and employees at the Samaritas Affordable Living at Ann Arbor on Sequoia Place on Friday as part of the senior facility’s first vaccination clinic.
As the state of Michigan moves into the next phase of its vaccination effort, some senior housing facilities are giving up their first doses. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Resources said about 91,000 staff and residents in Michigan parental homes across the state are eligible for this round.
Related: COVID-19 vaccinations begin in long-term care facilities in Michigan; first round target 91 000
Eden Winter was at Samaritas in Ann Arbor on January 8 among 40 residents who chose to receive the shot. She said she was a little hesitant, but eventually decided the shot could not be worse than getting the virus.
“If I’m immune, I can visit my family in Illinois again,” Winter said. ‘My daughter, my grandsons, three of my sisters are there and I have not seen them since it all started. We have video calls, but I want to embrace them. ”
For the past nine months, it has been difficult to live with Samartis, Winter said. Some residents were able to handle isolation better than others.
“Sometimes I feel like I’m getting depressed, you know, you get into the feeling that you do not want to clean up or have no motivation, but I think that will help,” Winter said.
Winter and other residents who came to the common room of the facility to attend the vaccination clinic said they missed the cardio machine sitting in the corner of the room, and that they could hang out with fellow residents freely .
“I’m glad we were able to do it because we did not expect it any time soon,” says Cheryl Khos, marketing director of Samaritas, who was one of several staff members who got the chance. ‘It’s one of our more active communities where we have a lot of families coming in, but we have some who are the community here. It was very difficult for them not to be able to get together and do things. ”
Even with 40 of the 54 residents living in the facility taking the vaccine, officials said it is still too early to know when mitigation efforts such as social distance and wearing of machines will be unleashed.
Samaritas, a health and human services agency serving more than 20,000 people across the country, has a faith base and has partnered with Walgreens to administer the vaccine in clinics in its facilities.
Officials said the next vaccination clinic is planned for February 5.
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