State and AdventHealth prepare vaccination plans

Palm Coast Observer
News

by: Christine Sexton

The News Service of Florida

Florida on Dec. 3 ramped up plans to vaccinate seniors for COVID-19 by publishing two emergency rules that require nursing homes and assisted living facilities to allow representatives from the state health department, CVS and Walgreens into the facilities.

AdventHealth answers questions about the COVID vaccine

AdventHealth has launched a new COVID-19 vaccine resource website, www.CoronavirusVaccineFacts.com to help consumers learn more about the vaccine.

For other frequently asked questions:

Q: When will AdventHealth receive a COVID-19 vaccine?

A: The U.S. Food & Drug Administration is meeting Dec. 10 to discuss the request for emergency use authorization of a vaccine candidate. We do not have an exact date as of today, but the vaccine could be available as early as mid-December.

Q: Is AdventHealth able to store the vaccines that require freezers?

A: AdventHealth is prepared and able to safely store and administer the vaccine.

Q: What brand/manufacturer vaccine will AdventHealth receive initially?

A: Pfizer.

Q: How many doses will AdventHealth receive?

A: We will receive a limited quantity as part of this initial rollout of the vaccine.

Q: Who will initially receive the COVID-19 vaccine?

A: Due to the expected limited initial supply, we will follow distribution guidelines as outlined by the federal and state governments, and National Academy of Medicine, which developed a tiered system. In following this protocol, AdventHealth will administer the vaccine to medical providers and team members working in areas with the most exposure risk.

Q: Can the general public receive a COVID-19 vaccine at this time?

A: No. Because of the limited supply, the general public cannot receive a vaccine today. AdventHealth does not have vaccines at its hospitals, physician practices or Centra Care facilities that are for the public at this time.

Q: Is the COVID-19 vaccine safe?

A: Extensive clinical trials were conducted with thousands of participants to evaluate the COVID-19 vaccine and generate scientific data and other information for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to determine its safety and effectiveness. Additionally, AdventHealth’s COVID-19 Vaccine Scientific Review Committee, as an independent committee, reviewed the process which evaluated the efficacy and safety of the vaccine.

Q: How does the COVID-19 vaccine work?

A: The vaccine helps you develop antibodies that make you less susceptible to the disease. It does not use the live virus that causes COVID-19.

Q: When will a vaccine be available to the public?

A: There is no exact date, but we are hopeful it could be as early as the Spring.

The emergency rules from Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration also gave nursing homes and assisted living facilities until the end of Thursday to sign up on state-supported websites to participate in what’s known as the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-term Care Program.

Announced by President Donald Trump’s administration as part of “Operation Warp Speed,” the government signed agreements in the program with CVS and Walgreens to coordinate efforts to bring vaccines to long-term care centers free of charge

The pair of emergency rules will remain in effect for 90 days but can be extended. Facilities that fail to follow the rules can have their licenses suspended, revoked or face administrative fines.

While facilities will be required to allow representatives of the health department and the pharmacy companies to enter and provide vaccinations, the rules say receiving the shots will be voluntary for residents and staff members.

“We are excited about this opportunity,” said Gail Matillo, president of the Florida Senior Living Association, told The News Service of Florida on Dec. 3.

Matillo, who serves on a Florida Department of Health vaccine advisory task force, said more than 90% of the 110,668 licensed assisted living facilities had already signed up to participate in the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program through a federal site.

“They want 100% (participation) so that’s why they (state officials) passed the emergency rules,” Matillo said.

The rules follow U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar’s announcement that 20 million Americans could receive COVID-19 vaccinations by the end of December. The administration maintains that 100 million could be vaccinated by March.

Those estimates assume approval of requests by Pfizer and Moderna for emergency use authorization for their vaccine candidates. The Food and Drug Administration's vaccine advisory committee will meet Dec. 10 to discuss Pfizer’s request for emergency use authorization, which was filed last month. The committee will meet again on Dec. 17 to discuss Moderna’s request for emergency use authorization, which was filed Monday.

Meanwhile, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices agreed Monday that the first doses of the vaccines should be given to health-care personnel treating patients, workers and residents in long-term care facilities.

DeSantis said on Facebook that “vaccinating long term residents first will reduce mortality with COVID significantly and will allow these facilities to return to normal operations, thereby reducing loneliness, despair, and the failure to thrive.” DeSantis added, “The goal should be to protect life and to make life for our (long term care) residents a life worth living.”

The governor followed up those comments by releasing a video late Wednesday in which he outlined the state’s priorities.

“The top priority will be our residents of our long-term care facilities. They are at the greatest risk and this vaccine could have a tremendously positive impact on them,” he said, adding that the second priority will be health care workers who are in high-risk and high-contact environments.

“To the extent we have enough, we want to start getting it out into the broader, 65 and over community, as well as those who have significant comorbidities” as a third priority, the governor noted.

Those comments were met with praise from the Florida Health Care Association, the state's largest nursing-home lobby.

“We all recognize how challenging the pandemic has been for our long term caregivers, residents, and their families. We also know that a vaccine is the best path for returning to some sense of normalcy,” the association’s executive director, Emmett Reed, said in a prepared statement. “We are optimistic about the plans to distribute and administer the vaccine quickly to our residents and staff. Nothing like this has ever been done before, but we believe the partnership that has been developed among our federal and state governments, CVS and Walgreens to vaccinate long term care residents and staff is the best approach to limit the spread of COVID and prevent further tragedies.”