CDC began rollout on Tuesday evening of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program for COVID-19 Vaccination.  This is the answer to the questions LeadingAge members have been asking:  “what comes next after the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care clinics end?  And what about providers and residents/clients/patients who were not eligible to be vaccinated under the Pharmacy Partnership?”  The program is being implemented incrementally based on vaccine supply, starting with select retail locations.  Ultimately, (we’re not there yet) it will expand to include all 40,000+ pharmacies in the country, including LTC pharmacies and others that can come on site and provide COVID vaccine clinics the way they provide flu or other immunization clinics. 

Here’s the HHS version of this update: COVID-19 Response Team Update and Information on the Launch of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program: Jeff Zients, COVID-19 Response Team coordinator provided an update on steps being taken to enact President Biden’s National Action Strategy to change the course of this pandemic. During the briefing, he highlighted recent actions to further increase vaccine supply, expansions to the number of sites for vaccinations, and additional support for states. “Starting February 11, the Federal Government will supply vaccines directly to select pharmacies across the country. This will provide more sites for people to get vaccinated in their communities and it’s an important component to delivering vaccines equitably,” Zients noted. “Equity is at the core of how the CDC is working with states to select pharmacy partners for this first phase. Sites are selected based on their ability to reach some of the populations most at risk for severe illness from COVID-19, including socially vulnerable communities.” The pharmacies participating will initially have limited supply and will be rollout out to 6,500 stores nationwide prior to expansion.

LeadingAge WA has, for the past few weeks, discussed with DOH and other stakeholders a need for an ongoing vaccination plan for new resident admits and new staff hires in LTC once the Federal Pharmacy Partnership is completed.  We have a meeting with DOH, Washington State Hospital Association, Residential Care Services and other long term care associations next week to finally begin these discussions in earnest.  We will keep you updated on any progress or news, state or federal, regarding this critically needed ongoing vaccination plan.

Questions?

Contact:

Laura Hofmann, MSN, RN – Director of Clinical and Nursing Facility Regulatory Services
c: 425-231-4804