Beshear celebrates beginning of COVID-19 vaccinations in Kentucky nursing homes
Kentucky started Monday vaccinating one of its most vulnerable populations — nursing home residents and staff — to curtail the deadly COVID-19 virus.
“Today, we celebrate another great and hopeful day in our battle against COVID-19,” Beshear said during a virtual news conference.
He said the goal is to vaccinate all residents and staff members of Kentucky long-term care facilities by the beginning of March. Kentucky has about 20,000 residents in long-term care and another 5,000 in assisted living.
More than two-thirds of the state’s nearly 2,400 coronavirus-related deaths have been in nursing homes, Beshear said.
Drugstore chains CVS and Walgreens will be in charge of administering the initial 25,000 doses of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines at the nursing homes, said Beshear. CVS and Walgreens were selected by the federal government.
Beshear noted that 7,319 Kentuckians, mostly hospital workers, were vaccinated last week in the first round of immunizations. More relief in the fight against the pandemic arrived in Kentucky Sunday with about 76,700 doses from Moderna. Those are scheduled to go to hospitals across the state.
The Democratic governor said his team is studying recommendations from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on what group should next receive the vaccine. He said the next emphasis would probably be those 75 and older.
But addressing nursing homes early with vaccines was critical, Beshear said.
The Thomson-Hood Veterans Center in Wilmore has been devastated by the “evil virus,” losing 34 residents in the last two months in the 285-bed facility, he said.
Vaccinations begin there Tuesday, he said.
During his news conference, Beshear showed photos of several nursing home residents receiving the vaccine.
Gene Hoover, regional health director of Walgreens, said the first nursing home immunization in Kentucky was at 5:59 a.m. Monday.
CVS Health said in a news release it will begin Monday to administer COVID-19 vaccines in 336 skilled nursing and assisted living facilities in Kentucky.
Timothy Veno, president of LeadingAge Kentucky, a nonprofit that represents aging services, said nursing homes and staff were excited about the vaccine, and Beverly Edwards, executive director of Episcopal Church Homes in Louisville, encouraged everyone to take the vaccine when possible “to help our elders.”
The goal in the war against COVID-19 “has always been to save lives,” said Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Eric Friedlander.
He said it remains of paramount importance for everyone to continue to practice guidelines to curb the spread of the virus. Those precautions include wearing masks, staying at least 6 feet away from others in public, washing hands, limiting traveling and avoiding groups.
“We can’t finish the race just because we see the finish line,” he said.
This story was originally published December 21, 2020 at 3:53 PM with the headline "Beshear celebrates beginning of COVID-19 vaccinations in Kentucky nursing homes."
