Indiana nursing home residents, staff begin receiving coronavirus vaccine

CVS Health began vaccinating residents and staff at Indiana nursing homes for the coronavirus on Monday, the company said.

The effort is part of the company's plan to vaccinate up to 4 million residents and staff at over 40,000 long-term care facilities nationwide.

The program started last week in Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon and Vermont.

It expanded to Indiana and 35 other states Monday, according to a press release.

A complete list of the Indiana facilities where CVS will administer the vaccine has not been released.

CVS Pharmacy teams will make three visits to each facility to ensure residents and staff receive their initial shot and critical booster, according to a news release.

Officials said the majority of residents and staff will be fully vaccinated three to four weeks after the first visit. CVS Health expects to complete its long-term care facility vaccination effort in about 12 weeks.

"I'm grateful for the herculean efforts of everyone involved, including our health care professionals who will be deployed throughout the country to bring peace of mind to long-term care facility residents, staff, and their loved ones," Larry J. Merlo, president and CEO of CVS Health, said in a statement.

CVS officials said the long-term care facility vaccination effort is the first step toward availability of COVID-19 vaccines at all CVS Pharmacy locations throughout the country.

Walgreens also began administering Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to residents and staff at long-term care facilities across 12 states on Dec. 21.

The company plans to expand vaccinations to nearly 3 million residents and staff at 35,000 long-term care facilities that have selected Walgreens as their vaccine provider as states finalize their distribution plans, according to a news release.

It remains unclear when the Walgreens program will officially begin in Indiana. IndyStar has reached out to Walgreens and CVS for more information about their respective programs in Indiana.

As of Monday, 3,794 residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Indiana have died of COVID-19. Long-term care residents account for less than 1% of the state's population and more than 50% of the state's 7,496 coronavirus deaths.

Call IndyStar reporter Justin L. Mack at 317-444-6138. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana nursing home residents, staff begin receiving coronavirus vaccine

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