COVID In Colorado: Long-Term Care Facilities Waiting On Date To Start Vaccines
DENVER (CBS4) - Residents and staff at long-term care facilities are among the first to get the initial round of coronavirus vaccines in Colorado. However, they likely won't be administered for another week or more.
As part of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention program, facilities are partnered with a participating pharmacy, largely CVS and Walgreens, to oversee the distribution and patient delivery from start to finish while following strict guidelines, including consent several days ahead of any clinic.
For the staff at Holly Heights Care Center in Denver, it has already been a long 10 months, working every day trying to protect their residents and themselves against the virus.
"It was really tough when COVID first started. Emotionally traumatic, physically traumatic, we didn't have PPE. We couldn't get testing, and the testing, when we did get it, would take 10 days," Executive Director Janet Snipes said.
On Monday, she says they have more equipment, more guidance and new hope on their side.
"The vaccination will truly be a game changer," Snipes said.
Logistically, however, administering the vaccine has its own set of challenges. The center's partner pharmacy, Walgreens, has given them a long list of guidelines to help them prepare, but the quick rollout means lots of work in a short amount of time.
"We have to get a time for each resident that they will receive the vaccination and for those that are bed-bound. The person with Walgreens who is administering the vaccine has to go to the bedside."
Long before they reach that point, there's a lot of information those wanting the vaccine must know and agree to.
"The informed consent is large. We need to get an informed consent, not just a signature, but definitely they need to understand what they are getting," Snipes said.
Other providers are navigating a separate issue with those forms.
Cindy Longfellow with Juniper Communities says the consent must be in the hands of the pharmacy in advance, 10 days ahead of any clinic. In an email, she says if that's the case it's unlikely anyone in senior living will be eligible before Dec. 21.
CBS News spoke with former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb on Sunday after learning of a delay.
"It's a very costly delay, there is 50,000 new infections in nursing homes every week right now, probably more than that," he said.
Snipes says whatever the date, it will be their first step back to normal, a day they are looking forward to.
"I hope we are able to get back to communal dining communal activities and get the residents out of the rooms and visitors in here that is the life of a facility and we need that happiness here," she said.