As many readers are aware, the federal government originally planned for long-term care patients to be among the very first to get the COVID-19 vaccination. Additionally, as you may already be aware, the provision of vaccines to senior care facilities has lagged behind schedule. It's also true that in some areas, local health authorities can provide older citizens with immunizations, but large drugstore chains like CVS and Walgreens cannot.

What is happening? Here's what you need to know about vaccination distribution in senior homes and what Heritage Care Home Senior Living is doing to address circumstances outside of our control to ensure that everyone in our communities can get vaccinated as soon as possible. This information should help you sift through the misunderstanding.

We had planned. Our partner in vaccination distribution is CVS. Heritage Care Home made adequate COVID-19 vaccine dosage reservations with CVS well before the release for all team members and residents in our locations.

The ideal preparations... However, it soon became apparent that the federal government had underestimated its capacity to acquire and distribute enough vaccines. State health agencies intervened at that point to control and supervise the disbursement of funds.

Walgreens and CVS are expecting a complete supply. As a result, numerous state health organizations have acquired vaccines and are now able to provide them to seniors. At the same time, CVS and Walgreens, who entered into a deal with the government to serve as major vaccine distributors, are awaiting their full allotments of vaccines.

The firms have been advised that they cannot provide immunization clinics to independent living communities during Phase 1a.

State-specific allocation priorities differ. Healthcare workers and skilled nursing institutions have almost uniformly been given precedence when it comes to receiving vaccinations. The funding allotted for residents of assisted living facilities varies little between states. A vaccination distribution strategy for assisted living has not yet been implemented in Alabama, Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Oregon, and Wisconsin, which are the other eight states as of mid-January.

Actions taken by Heritage Care Home to prevent vaccination delays

Wherever feasible, Heritage Care Home communities actively encourage team members to visit nearby healthcare facilities if they can get their shots there sooner to help avoid delays.

Additionally, these communities are proactive in looking into local vaccination clinics for independent-living residents and are setting up transportation so that they may get their immunizations sooner.

We continue to strive for universal COVID-19 vaccination

Everyone in our communities should obtain the COVID-19 vaccination as soon as possible, according to everyone at Heritage Care Home. We are making every effort to address distribution irregularities and supply limitations that have been beyond our control. We're dedicated to preserving the safety and happiness of our communities, and of course, we'll keep you informed as we find out more.

Have more inquiries? For additional details on the COVID-19 vaccination, visit our comprehensive COVID-19 FAQ.