The federal government tasked CVS and Walgreens with administering the vaccine to all U.S. nursing home residents across 15,000 facilities.
As of Jan. 5, more than 3.2 million doses were distributed to long-term care facilities, with 429,066 doses given, according to CDC vaccination data. The data, however, lags behind by a few days.
CVS indicated several challenges in its vaccination program, including a lower-than-anticipated uptake among staff, likely due to facilities staggering vaccinations in case of employees experiencing side effects. Additionally, there are about 20 to 30 percent fewer residents than projected.
“We’re dealing with a vulnerable population that requires on-site and, in some cases, in-room visits at facilities with fewer than 100 residents on average,” said Larry Merlo, CEO of CVS. “Despite these challenges, we remain on schedule, and the number of vaccines we administer will continue to rise as more facilities are activated by the states.”
As of Jan. 6, the pharmacy chains were administering vaccines in nursing facilities across 49 states and Washington, D.C, according to company news releases. CVS and Walgreens also plan to start administering doses in assisted living facilities within the next few weeks.
More articles on post-acute care:
Ohio nursing home staff reluctant to get vaccinated
New York nursing home to shut down
Nursing homes struggle to obtain resident vaccine consent
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