Covid vaccines arriving at Pennsylvania nursing homes

CVS Health began distributing vaccinations to 120 skilled nursing facilities across the state Monday, while Walgreens is distributing to an additional six, Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine said.

Immunizations for residents and staff members in long-term care facilities are being provided through a partnership between the federal government and the two national pharmacy chains.

“It’s important for me to emphasize that this is really the federal government’s program,” Levine said in a virtual press briefing Monday morning.

Levine said members of Operation Warp Speed, a partnership of federal health entities including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will select locations, deliver doses of vaccine and conduct vaccination clinics in Pennsylvania’s facilities throughout this week and in the weeks to come. Skilled nursing homes will come first, followed by personal care, assisted living, residential treatment and private intermediate care.

CVS and Walgreens each have “vaccine leads” who are reaching out to contact persons at each facility to coordinate the amount of doses, obtain patient consent and set a date for a clinic, Levine said. Residents and staff at long-term care facilities will be receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, Levine said.

Levine said the state Department of Health is set to launch an online dashboard Tuesday to track which long-term care facilities are receiving vaccines and when.

In the past two weeks, Levine said, 72,762 health care workers have received their first doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. An additional 58 hospitals are slated to receive 47,775 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 26,100 doses of the Moderna vaccine this week.

“What is still clear is that this vaccination process will take some time, and it’s particularly dependent upon how much vaccine we receive each week from the federal government,” Levine said.

In the meantime, hospitals and health systems across the state are being challenged by a deadly surge in covid-19 and difficulties maintaining adequate staff levels. There are 5,995 covid-19 patients hospitalized in Pennsylvania, with more than 1,100 in intensive care units and 715 on ventilators, according to the state’s covid-19 data dashboard.

The state reported 3,779 new cases Monday, along with 4,884 on Sunday, bringing the statewide total to 613,804 cases. There also were 76 new deaths reported Monday and 127 on Sunday, bringing the statewide total to 15,086.

Levine urged people to continue following public health orders, which include the suspension of indoor dining, high school extracurricular activities and indoor gym activities, among other restrictions.

Since the newest restrictions began Dec. 12, several restaurants in Western Pennsylvania and across the state have openly flouted the orders, remaining open and defying mandates by local health entities to close.

“Last week, there were a number of injunctions against those facilities, ordering them to close,” Levine said. “What I would say to the facilities and the patrons of those facilities is that I’m worried for their health. … They’re putting their community at risk to continue the spread of covid-19.”

While the restrictions are set to expire Jan. 4, Levine said Pennsylvania residents can expect an announcement before then about what is to occur after that. She could not confirm if restrictions would be extended, loosened or if new restrictions are to come.

“As we approach New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, we cannot let our guard down,” she said. “We must stay the course and continue to work together and stand united to stop the spread of covid-19.”