Vaccine Update: Deadline Extended for COVID-19 Vaccine Partnership

Posted on October 28, 2020 by Bobbie Guidry

Senior living and other long-term care providers now have until Nov. 6 to sign up for the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program.

Senior living settings (assisted and independent) who wish to be considered for the CVS/Walgreen’s partnership should complete this form. Skilled nursing and other types of long-term care facilities certified by CMS that report data through the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) should log in to NHSN and use the link to the program under “alerts.”

When a vaccine is available it is anticipated that the supply will, initially, be limited. Currently, the manufacturers are producing and stockpiling vaccine doses. After vaccines are approved, production will continue and ramp up daily. CDC has every reason to expect that within a few months there will be a sufficient supply for adults. The vaccines currently under development have not been tested on children, so they won’t be able to receive vaccines yet.

Part of the supply on day one will go to states. States will determine how their vaccine doses will be allocated and Minnesota has begun planning discussions. HHS has prioritized health care workers as the top group to be vaccinated with the state allocations, and suggested administration be done through clinics, mobile units and other similar ways—but states are not mandated to follow the HHS priority. It’s expected that essential workers (not yet defined), people with health conditions, and all people over age 65 will be next to receive state vaccine allocations.

CDC has set aside “about 3 million” vaccines for the CVS/Walgreen’s partnership. For the first phase, top priority goes to residents of nursing homes and assisted living and other people living on the same campus. Based on current information, LeadingAge anticipates that:

• All residents on a CCRC/LPC campus are included in the top priority group for the CVS/Walgreen’s partnership. This is based on the assumption that people on a campus interact, spouses visit one another in different settings on the campus, people may dine together. If CCRC/LPCs fill out the REDCap as one setting, they will likely be able to participate in the CVS/Walgreen’s partnership.
• Affordable housing that is not connected to a nursing home, memory unit, or assisted living is not likely to be in the first priority. States have a lot of discretion with their allocations and may choose to include older people in low income housing in their own state priority group. LeadingAge asked CDC to add federally assisted senior housing to the setting type list in REDCap.
•  “Retirement communities” or “55+” communities are not included in the first phase. “Independent Living” is included on the setting type list in REDCap, but inclusion on this list is not an indicator that IL will be among prioritized sites. IL settings are encouraged to sign up in REDCap but should do so with no firm expectations.
• No provider type (except nursing homes and assisted living) should assume they are set to receive the vaccine if they sign up via REDCap. The supply chain will dictate the CDC’s response, and we must continue to advocate for all providers to be included.