CVS Pharmacy

CVS and Walgreens Under Fire For Slow Pace of Vaccination in Nursing Homes

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The effort to vaccinate some of the country’s most vulnerable residents against Covid-19 has been slowed by a federal program that sends retail pharmacists into nursing homes — accompanied by layers of bureaucracy and logistical snafus.

As of Thursday, more than 4.7 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Covid vaccines had been allocated to the federal pharmacy partnership, which has deputized pharmacy teams from Walgreens and CVS to vaccinate nursing home residents and workers. Since the program started in some states on Dec. 21, however, they have administered about one-quarter of the doses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Across the country, some nursing home directors and health care officials say the partnership is actually hampering the vaccination process by imposing paperwork and cumbersome corporate policies on facilities that are thinly staffed and reeling from the devastating effects of coronavirus. They argue that nursing homes are unique medical facilities that would be better served by medical workers who already understand how they operate.
Senior Woman Praying

People Who Live In Nursing Homes Should Be Our Top Priority

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2021 is beginning a lot like how 2020 ended. Across the country, there is a steady increase in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. But there is another population that continues to show a record number of new cases: people who live in nursing homes.

A recent report by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL), representing more than 14,000 nursing homes and assisted living communities across the country, showed nursing homes in the U.S. saw a continued record of new cases. This surpassed previous peaks since the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) started tracking nursing home cases.

Specifically, the Midwest region saw a 275 percent increase in weekly Covid-19 cases in nursing homes between September and November 2020 due to the community spread among the general population.

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Doctor with vaccine

Michigan’s Last-Minute Switch Delayed COVID-19 Vaccines For Nursing Home Residents

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From Michigan’s biggest cities to its far rural areas, the state’s most vulnerable populations in nursing homes and long-term care facilities are finally starting to get COVID-19 vaccines — with officials hoping to see declines in the number of cases and deaths soon after both doses of the vaccines are administered to residents and staff.

For many, that day can’t come fast enough.

It brings the hope of hugging a parent, spouse, daughter, son or grandchild. It brings the anticipation of simply touching and holding a friend’s hand.

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Nursing Home Care

Assisted Living vs. Nursing Home: How to Choose the Right Level of Care

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Long-term care options for older adults are more varied than ever. But deciding which option is best for yourself or a loved one can be complicated.

A good place to begin is by deciding what level of care is right for your circumstances.

In this article, we’ll help shed light on the differences between nursing homes and assisted living facilities, and how to decide which one is the right choice.

What are the key differences between assisted living and nursing homes?

Assisted living is primarily a residential environment, while nursing homes — also called skilled nursing facilities — are considered medical environments.

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Medical Syringe & Vaccine

Vaccinations Have Begun At The Nursing Home Hit By The First U.S. Virus Cluster

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A nurse at the suburban Seattle nursing home that was ravaged by the first U.S. cluster of coronavirus cases sat down beside a visiting pharmacist on Monday, pulled up her blue shirtsleeve and received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine administered at the facility.

It was the beginning of what residents, families and employees hope will be a turning point in a pandemic that has killed tens of thousands of people in long-term care facilities. Vaccination teams from Walgreens and CVS were fanning out to facilities across the country on Monday, the start of a long, difficult campaign to vaccinate some of the country’s most vulnerable people.

At the facility near Seattle, the Life Care Center of Kirkland, which is connected with 46 coronavirus deaths, relatives of residents got a text message on Monday morning alerting them that vaccinations were beginning.

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Covid Vaccine

Marin Begins Coronavirus Vaccinations At Nursing Homes

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Maria Cortez waited in line early Thursday morning in the chilly air outside The Tamalpais senior living center in Greenbrae to become one of the first nursing home workers to get vaccinated against the coronavirus in Marin.

Cortez, who is a nursing assistant at the center, has spent the past nine months wearing safety gear at work, getting frequent coronavirus tests and limiting her exposure to others. But despite all the precautions, she worries constantly about catching the virus and passing it on to the patients she works with, or to her three children at home.

“It’s really stressful,” she said. “I was so excited to get the vaccine.”

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CVS Pharmacy

CVS Health, Walgreens Start To Provide Covid Vaccines at Thousands of Hard-Hit Nursing Homes

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For nursing homes across the country, the coronavirus pandemic has been especially marked by isolation, illness and loss. On Friday, CVS Health and Walgreens are beginning to offer Covid-19 vaccinations for residents and staff at those long-term care facilities, making them among the first Americans to receive the shots.

Walgreens said its pharmacists will administer the shots at nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Ohio, Connecticut and Florida. CVS said it will provide them at facilities in Ohio and Connecticut.

Both companies will expand to facilities in other states next week.

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Doctor with Vaccine

US Nursing Homes, Confused by Initial COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout, Will Begin Immunizations Next Week, CDC Says

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The vast majority of nursing homes in the United States won’t start vaccinating staff and residents against COVID-19 until Dec. 21, and some won’t start until Dec. 28, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Monday’s rollout of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine brought confusion nationwide as it became clear most long-term care facilities and nursing homes were not taking part in the initial immunizations, despite the CDC’s decision last week to include residents in the first phase of distribution.

That’s because the majority of long-term care facilities opted to take part in a federal program that uses pharmacy chains, including CVS, Walgreens and others, to facilitate vaccination of staff and residents.

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Doctor with vaccine

CVS Health CEO Says it Has 10,000 Staffers Ready To Vaccinate Seniors at Nursing Homes

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CVS Health Chief Executive Larry Merlo said the company is ready to administer “vaccines into the arms of some of our most vulnerable populations” within 24 to 48 hours upon receiving its share of Covid-19 vaccines.

“We’re ready to go. We’re in great shape and as I mentioned, people are excited to be an important part of this solution,” Merlo said Thursday in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

Health-care workers and residents and staff at long-term care facilities should be the first in line for the Covid-19 vaccines, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The decision of who gets the shots first is ultimately made by states and jurisdictions.

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Nurse Stressed Out

They Have Masks and Gloves. There’s More Testing Capacity. What Nursing Homes Really Need is More Help, Advocates Say.

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In the before-times, Peter Karris visited his mother Margaret several times a week, sometimes even more.

He would keep her company, feed her meals and support other residents in the nursing home where she lives. Once, he collected dolls to give each resident; other times he’d paint with them and sell their work to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association.

Then COVID-19 came.

First, the nursing home where she lives, Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care and Rehabilitation in Queens, New York, closed to all visitors. Then, the virus swept through.

Dozens of residents caught it, including Margaret. Her roommate didn’t make it, nor did a number of others on their floor. By the end of the spring surge, 81 Parker residents had died.

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