A volunteer is vaccinated on September 24, 2020 at a research center in Florida, USA, at a research center for coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Marco Bello | Reuters
The Trump administration on Friday announced a deal with CVS Health and Walgreens to provide coronavirus vaccines to the elderly and staff at long-term care facilities.
The vaccine will be free of charge and will be available to residents in all long-term care settings, including skilled nursing facilities, nursing homes, supportive living facilities, residential care homes and adult family homes, the Department of Health and Human Services said in a press release. Release.
CVS and Vaggrins will direct and coordinate site clinic dates directly with each facility, HHSA said. The companies assume that residents and employees need to make three total visits in two months to administer both doses of the vaccine, the agency said.
H.H.S. “Protecting the vulnerabilities of the Trump administration’s response to the Covid-19 is the number one priority, and that commitment will continue through the distribution of safe and effective vaccines as soon as possible,” Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement.
Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma said the deal would ensure that nursing home residents, who are severely affected by the virus, are “at the forefront of the COVID vaccine and will bring their intrusive trials as close as possible.”
The announcement comes on the same day that states will have to submit their draft plans to the federal government on how they will distribute the coronavirus vaccine if and when it is approved for public use.
Most of the potential vaccines require two doses, although Johnson and Johnson require only one shot, and some of them need to be transported and stored at different and specific temperatures.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
.
