Genesis says state variation could complicate COVID-19 vaccination efforts - Business Insider

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The biggest nursing home chain in the US is sounding off about a potentially messy COVID-19 vaccine rollout for seniors, as a patchwork of state vaccination plans emerges

A nurse prepares to inject staff with the Pfizer/BioNtech covid-19 vaccine at Bradley Manor residential care home in Belfast on December 9, 2020.Under a federal program, pharmacy giants CVS Health and Walgreens will give COVID-19 vaccines to residents and staff at more than 50,000 long-term care facilities.

Dr. Richard Feifer, chief medical officer of Genesis, which operates more than 325 long-term care facilities in 24 states, said that while most states have agreed to allow pharmacy chains CVS Health and Walgreens to vaccinate their nursing home residents as part of a federal program, at least one state — West Virginia — is mulling its own strategy.

Inconsistent state approaches to managing the pandemic have complicated COVID-19 testing and efforts to source personal protective equipment, causing confusion and inefficiencies, Feifer said, adding that he worried variation among states would hinder efforts to vaccinate Americans quickly and end the pandemic.

Instead, West Virginia is developing its own strategy to best fit its population. The state is prioritizing nursing home and assisted living residents and staff for the first vaccine shipments, along with healthcare workers that work with patients with COVID-19.to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of 16,575 doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

"We believe that based on our primarily rural nature that pharmacies are going to be key to our distribution to our general citizen population, so this is helping us build the infrastructure long-term to vaccinate all West Virginians," Hoyer said. The FDA could give emergency approval to a vaccine from drug company Pfizer within days. An expert panelA week later, it will review Moderna's request for emergency approval of its vaccine. Both require two doses given weeks apart.

Cohen said she expects the pharmacies to begin vaccinating long-term care facilities in the second week of the vaccine rollout, once the Moderna vaccine is authorized. Healthcare workers in contact with COVID-19 patients would be prioritized during the first week. A spokesman for CVS said the company is unaware of any state opting out of the federal program, but said if a state were to opt out, CVS' ability to vaccinate a long-term care facility in that state would depend on the state.

Both CVS and Walgreens said they'll be ready to give shots within 48 hours of receiving the vaccines at their designated hubs. Pfizer will ship its vaccines, which must be kept at a temperature of negative 70 degrees Celsius, directly to roughly 1,000 CVS pharmacies that are acting as "hubs." Those hubs were chosen because of their proximity to the long-term care facilities that CVS will visit. Supply chain company McKesson will ship CVS the Moderna vaccines, which can be kept at regular freezer temperature.

 

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How can they be bashing anything it hasn’t even been rolled out yet? And as they’re waiting for the vaccine they might want to get their patients on vitamin D the entire nation of Britain is

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