The first COVID vaccines arrive at McLean County’s long-term care facility at the deadliest moment of the pandemic.
December was the deadliest month of the McLean County pandemic, with 51 deaths. Of the people, 31 were associated with long-term care, such as nursing homes.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, as of Friday, there were 13 active outbreaks at long-term care facilities in McLean County. At least 43 deaths were detected in the 13 outbreaks alone. (IDPH defines an “active” outbreak as one with cases in the last 28 days.)
According to IDPH, the deadliest outbreaks occurred at:
- Normal hereditary health, 11 deaths and 104 cases during current active outbreak.
- McLean County Nursing Home, 11 deaths and 82 cases during current active outbreak.
- Center for Rehabilitation and Health Care in Bloomington, 11 deaths and 59 cases. The outbreak took place in May and has since ended.
The outbreak at McLean County Nursing Home is notable because it is a government agency. At the beginning of December, it had about 80 residents, mostly Medicaid residents.
The situation has worsened over the past month. In early December, there were only 18 cases and no deaths. Employees there are tested for COVID-19 every week.
As with other long-term care facilities, the McLean County Nursing Home is expected to receive its first doses of COVID vaccine soon. This will be done through a federal program in partnership with CVS and Walgreens. The program began distributing vaccines on December 28, although it is unclear how many doses were administered in the first week.
“We are working closely with Walgreens for the vaccine, but it is still unknown when we will get the vaccine,” Terri Edens, McLean County Nursing Home Administrator, said in a report to the McLean County Board Health Committee before his Jan. 4 meeting.
About half of COVID deaths across the country are linked to long-term care facilities. In McLean County, it was 66 out of 101 deaths, or 65%.
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