Residents and staff at long-term care facilities to receive the COVID-19 Vaccine

(Santa Ana, CA) — Governor Gavin Newsom recently announced that California has opted in to the federal COVID-19 Pharmacy Partnership. At no cost to the state or local government, CVS and Walgreens will administer the Pfizer vaccine to residents and staff in long-term care facilities.CVS and Walgreens have started this week with nursing homes, which will take an estimated 3-4 weeks, and then vaccinate staff and residents in assisted living, residential care and other long-term care facilities. 

The program will enable counties to leverage CVS and Walgreens pharmacy staff to administer the vaccine more broadly with pharmacy staff going directly to care facilities. Skilled Nursing Facilities will receive vaccine from staff from CVS and Walgreens. Approximately 72 skilled nursing facilities and 900 residential care facilities for the elderly will be provided vaccine by CVS and Walgreens throughout Orange County.

The vaccines will be administered by pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and nurses. Pharmacy technicians are participating under a recent waiver by the Board of Pharmacy that requires appropriate supervision under California law and specialized training.

Specifically, the program:

• Schedules and coordinates on-site vaccine clinic dates directly with each facility. Pharmacy staff will visit each facility several times to ensure that all residents and employees who wish to be vaccinated get the vaccine.
• Orders vaccines and associated supplies (e.g. syringes, needles, personal protective equipment).
• Ensures cold storage for the vaccine.
• Provides on-site administration of the vaccine to all residents and staff.

To learn more about this partnership, please visit https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/12/28/governor-newsom-announces-partnership-with-cvs-and-walgreens-to-provide-pfizer-vaccines-to-residents-and-staff-in-long-term-care-facilities/. 

For the latest information about COVID-19 vaccination in Orange County, please visit www.COVIDVaccineFacts.com.