COVID-19 vaccines will be given to patients and care-givers at Warren County nursing homes starting next week.

Through the Federal Pharmacy Partnership, CVS and Walgreens will provide COVID vaccines to long-term care facilities in Pennsylvania.

“The availability of the COVID-19 vaccine is quickly approaching for our care community,” Warren Manor HCF Regional Director of Business Development Kerstin Wyman said. “Our industry, including high-risk populations, healthcare workers, and older adults, are the first to receive access to the vaccine.”

“We are incredibly excited for our care community to receive our shipment of the vaccines,” Warren Manor Administrator Susanna Hummel said. “Jan. 12 will be our first clinic date. Staff and residents that choose to get the vaccine on this day will the get their second dose required with this vaccine at the second clinic.”

The follow-up is scheduled for Feb. 2.

“Any staff or residents that did not receive the vaccine during our first vaccine clinic date, and changes their mind to now receive it can receive their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the second scheduled clinic date,” Hummel said.

“The clinic is only for our residents and staff, no general public,” Wyman said.

The Rouse Home will be the first county nursing home to receive the vaccine.

“The Rouse Estate has partnered with CVS/Omnicare to provide the Pfizer/BioNtech COVID-19 Vaccine,” Marketing Director Kelsey Angove said. “This vaccine requires two doses spaced out a minimum of 21 days apart to provide full immunity.”

“Our vaccine clinics are tentatively scheduled for Jan. 4 and Jan. 25,” Angove said. “All residents and staff who consent and meet criteria will be vaccinated. At this point in time, it is not mandatory, but strongly encouraged for staff to vaccinate against COVID-19.”

“Kinzua Healthcare & Rehabilitation is scheduled to hold its first COVID-19 vaccination clinic on Thursday, Jan. 7,” a Guardian Healthcare spokesperson said. “The COVID-19 vaccine will be offered to both residents and caregivers.”

“Our residents and caregivers are very grateful to be among the first people to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and we look forward to 2021 with renewed hope and dedication to those we serve,” the spokesperson said. “The safety of our residents and our employees remains our top priority. We continue to follow all CDC, CMS, and DOH guidance for health care facilities.”

Procedures are being established regarding notification and distribution.

“Our COVID-19 leadership team has created a vaccine acknowledgment and procedure,” Wyman said. “The acknowledgment is similar to our current flu acknowledgment. The procedure is to ensure a smooth process for distributing the vaccine to all HCF locations.”

“Our residents, their family members, and our staff will receive vaccine acknowledgment information for the vaccine we believe we are receiving prior to its arrival,” she said. “There are three different pharmaceutical organizations that have developed a vaccine. Until we receive the vaccine in-hands, we will not be able to verify at 100 percent which one is being sent to us.”

“We understand there is concern regarding the COVID-19 vaccine,” Wyman said. “We want to do our best to educate everyone about the facts. Our organization has been sharing the facts about the vaccine from The Centers of Disease Control (CDC), and from local medical professionals.”

The effects of the vaccines are still weeks away. Measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 remain in effect.

“At this time, there are no changes to the visitation regulations and restrictions,” she said. “We will promptly notify family members if and when we learn of any regulation changes related to COVID-19. From the Warren Manor Family to yours, we sincerely appreciate the cooperation and understanding of our current procedures to keep our residents and staff safe. If you have any questions, please reach out to the care community.”

VACCINE DASHBOARD

Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine announced Wednesday the launch of a state-wide COVID-19 vaccine dashboard.

The dashboard, available through health.pa.gov, “includes information on the number of vaccinations administered by county, as well as demographic information about the people being vaccinated,” according to the Wednesday release.

“Each day, more and more Pennsylvanians are getting vaccinated against COVID-19, which means we are another step closer to beating this virus,” Levine said. “The COVID-19 vaccine dashboard will help us visualize how many individuals have received the vaccine to date and help us work to vaccinate everyone who wishes to receive a vaccination.”