The Trump administration on Friday announced a deal with CVS Health and Walgreens to administer coronavirus vaccines to the elderly and staff in long-term care facilities.
The vaccine will be free and available for residents in all long-term care settings, including skilled nursing facilities, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, residential care homes and adult family homes, the Department of Health and Human Services said in a press release.
Starting Monday, long-term care facilities will be able to select which pharmacy they prefer to have on-site.
CVS and Walgreens will schedule and coordinate on-site clinic dates directly with each facility, HHS said. The companies anticipate that three total visits over two months are likely to be needed to administer both doses of vaccine to residents and staff, the agency said. Long-term care facilities are not mandated to participate, HHS added.
“Protecting the vulnerable has been the number one priority of the Trump Administration’s response to COVID-19, and that commitment will continue through distributing a safe and effective vaccine earliest to those who need it most,” HHS Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma said the deal will ensure that nursing homes, which have been hit hard by the virus, “are at the front of the line for the COVID vaccine and will bring their grueling trial to a close as swiftly as possible.”…
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