Residents of long-term care homes were supposed to be first in line to get a costly COVID-19 vaccination, through an innovative federal partnership. But so far, the explosion of vaccines for the state’s most vulnerable population has mostly led to frustration – and now some provinces are offering vaccinations to nursing homes and aids from their limited supply, rather than waiting for the federal vaccination program.
Using vaccine doses provided by Contra Costa County, John Muir Health will vaccinate people at Byron Park in Walnut Creek on Wednesday, following last week’s shots fired at residents and employees of another facility, Viamonte, who were expected to rely on the federal program. And this week, staff and residents of Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, one of the largest competent nursing homes in the state, received their shots from the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
“The collaborators hurt it,” said Michael Wasserman, a geriatrics and former president of the California Association for Long Term Care Medicine, who criticized the federal plan, which is supposed to work by vaccinating directly on CVS and Walgreens for seniors. houses.
However, it is difficult to get a comprehensive picture of what is happening with the federal program in California. Officials from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention did not respond to a request for information, and a CVS spokesman insisted that the company begin vaccinations in nursing homes in California on Dec. 28. But the Bay Area News Group has spoken to only one facility – the San Francisco Campus for Jewish Living – which says it is currently receiving vaccinations from CVS.
The stakes are high as cases continue to rise in long-term care facilities. At least 23,335 residents and staff in nursing homes and care facilities were actively infected with COVID-19 this week, according to the latest state data. And at least 9,443 people working and living in these facilities have died from COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.
Months ago, federal officials announced a plan to help by tapping Walgreens and CVS to work directly at nursing homes to vaccinate the hundreds of thousands of elderly Americans in that vulnerable population. It would be supposed to take place on a separate track of the vaccinations of health workers and others, led by the state and county divisions. But in early December, the effort became entangled.
The first doses were sent directly from the manufacturers to the pharmacies before the holiday, but many facilities only find out when the equestrian arrives – and in many cases it is not very soon. At Chaparral House, a competent nursing home in Berkeley, managers expected the first vaccines to be given there in December, but they have now been told to plan for mid-January.
Chuck Cole, chief operating officer of Chaparral House, said his facility tried to register in October to let Walgreens out, but he went months without hearing anything and had to re-register several times before the government’s website showed the community .
“The bravado of the Trump administration and its Operation Warp Speed has not proven that it is very accurate or that it is smooth or fast,” Cole said.
According to the California Department of Public Health, approximately 90% of the skilled nursing homes and 65% of the assistance facilities across the state have reported to receive vaccinations through the federal program. For those who did not enroll, the department said: “the local health departments in partnership with the local facility will make a decision on the distribution and administration of vaccines for the facility.”
A Contra Costa province spokesman said it was coordinating vaccinations at 80 facilities, including small rooms. Spokesman Will Harper said the county acted because it was said that Walgreens and CVS plan to vaccinate people living and working in skilled nursing homes first and then turn to home care facilities. Given the disproportionate number of cases and deaths associated with nursing homes, he said the country “cannot afford to wait for such a vulnerable population.”
Louise Rogers, health chief in San Mateo County, said she was ‘encouraged’ by the recent progress made by CVS and that Walgreens was starting vaccinations in the country, with 11 facilities planned so far. Still, she said the province is working separately with the Safeway pharmacy to provide shots to about 1,300 vulnerable residents and staff of care facilities. She said it was ” a role we expected to play as this huge effort comes on a scale. ‘
Other provinces in the Bay Area did not immediately respond to questions about whether they were working on similar efforts. In Los Angeles County, officials said in mid-December that they would prefer the federal program to distribute vaccines more quickly to senior housing facilities.
Walgreens did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but a CVS spokesman said things were going according to plan.
“We started on December 28 to visit vaccinations at facilities in California, which was the date the CDC set for this state,” Monica Prinzing said. ‘According to the California Vaccination Guidelines, vaccinations at skilled nursing homes were first activated before vaccination at assisted living facilities. As a result, we are starting vaccination at assisted care facilities on January 11th. ”
But advocates for nursing homes have painted a much darker picture.
“They not only had a bad plan, but also did not prepare. And what they did prepare is bad, “said Wasserman. CVS and Walgreens’ would not know a nursing home of a senior apartment complex. When they walk in, they do not understand the workflow, the residents. ”
The delays also caused families to scramble for information.
Maddie Napel and her family hoped that her brother, who lives in a small group home for adults with disabilities, would be among the first to be vaccinated.
“No one in my family has been allowed to see him since February, and we would like to see him alive and well again,” Napel said.
But outside of a period from mid to late January, Naples’ family was not notified of a specific vaccination date. Until then, they keep waiting.