Westmoreland Manor residents, staff start receiving coronavirus vaccine
Westmoreland Manor residents and staff started getting vaccinated against the coronavirus Monday.
It was the first day the vaccine was available in long-term care facilities in Pennsylvania. The number of those at the Hempfield facility consenting to get inoculated grew as the day went on, interim director Abby Testa said.
“I think we’re all looking forward to the next step,” she said. “(Monday) was a day that history was made.”
The first vaccinations at long-term care facilities in the state were completed with help from CVS Health and Walgreens workers. This week, CVS Health staff will administer the Pfizer vaccine to residents and staff at 120 skilled nursing facilities, and Walgreens employees will work at six such sites, according to state Health Secretary Rachel Levine.
CVS Health staff will be at the nursing facility through Wednesday, Testa said. They will return in mid-January to administer a second dose to those who were inoculated this week and to give a first shot to others. The workers will return once more to finish up the immunizations, which require two shots to be effective.
As of late Monday, 230 residents and 125 staff members consented to get the vaccine, Testa said. That’s more than half of those who live at the 408-bed, county-owned facility.
“We’ve been getting more consents throughout the day,” she said.
Since September, 167 residents and 80 staff members have contracted the virus. Seven residents have died.
Commissioner Gina Cerilli said Monday that 15 residents and seven employees are currently infected.
“We’re very excited that the Manor was one of the first to get the vaccine,” she said.
The vaccines are the first step to getting things back to normal, Commissioner Sean Kertes said. Cerilli said she hopes the nursing home vaccinations will allow the state to lift visitation restrictions that have been in place since March.
Frontline medical workers at Excela Health were the first in the county to be inoculated starting Dec. 18.
Renatta Signorini is a TribLive reporter covering breaking news, crime, courts and Jeannette. She has been working at the Trib since 2005. She can be reached at rsignorini@triblive.com.
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