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To meet the Trump Administration's Operation Warp Speed (OWS) goals, the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Defense (DoD) today announced agreements with CVS
and Walgreens to provide and administer COVID-19 vaccines to residents of
long-term care facilities (LTCF) nationwide with no out-of-pocket costs.
Protecting especially vulnerable Americans has been a critical part of the
Trump Administration’s work to combat COVID-19, and LTCF residents may be
part of the prioritized groups for initial COVID-19 vaccination efforts
until there are enough doses available for every American who wishes to be
vaccinated.
The Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care
Program provides complete management of the COVID-19 vaccination process.
This means LTCF residents and staff across the country will be able to
safely and efficiently get vaccinated once vaccines are available and
recommended for them, if they have not been previously vaccinated. It will
also minimize the burden on LTCF sites and jurisdictional health
departments of vaccine handling, administration, and fulfilling reporting
requirements.
“Protecting the vulnerable has been the
number one priority of the Trump Administration’s response to COVID-19, and
that commitment will continue through distributing a safe and effective
vaccine earliest to those who need it most,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar.
“Our unprecedented public-private partnership with CVS and Walgreens will
provide convenient and free vaccination to residents of nursing homes
across America, another historic achievement in our efforts to get a safe
and effective vaccine to Americans as fast as possible.”
“Today’s historic pharmacy partnership will
truly help jurisdictions solve a logistical hurdle and decrease the burden
of distributing, administering, and reporting COVID-19 vaccination for both
states and long-term care facilities,” said Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield. “CDC is proud to be a part of this
public-private partnership that is advancing care for the Nation’s most
vulnerable.”
“The pandemic has inflicted a devastating
toll on America’s nursing home residents,” said Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma. “That’s why the Trump
Administration has taken unprecedented action to protect them in every
possible way. This effort will ensure they are at the front of the
line for the COVID vaccine and will bring their grueling trial to a close
as swiftly as possible.”
The program is:
· Free
of charge to facilities.
·
Available for residents in all long-term care settings, including skilled
nursing facilities (SNF), nursing homes, assisted living facilities,
residential care homes, and adult family homes.
·
Available to all remaining LTCF staff members who have not been previously
vaccinated for COVID-19 (e.g., through satellite, temporary, or off-site
clinics).
·
Available in most rural areas that may not have an easily accessible
pharmacy.
· HHS
is using multiple authorities to ensure appropriate reimbursement for these
services and that no American being vaccinated for COVID-19 will have to
pay out-of-pocket.
CVS and Walgreens will schedule and
coordinate on-site clinic date(s) directly with each facility. It is
anticipated that three total visits over approximately two months are
likely to be needed to administer both doses of vaccine (if indicated) to
residents and staff. The pharmacies will also:
·
Receive and manage vaccines and associated supplies (e.g., syringes,
needles, and personal protective equipment).
·
Ensure cold chain management for vaccine.
·
Provide on-site administration of vaccine.
· Report
required vaccination data (including who was vaccinated, with what vaccine,
and where) to the state, local, or territorial, and federal public health
authorities within 72 hours of administering each dose.
·
Adhere to all applicable Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
requirements for COVID-19 testing for LTCF staff.
“Ensuring access to COVID-19 vaccines,
particularly among our most vulnerable populations, will be critical to
saving lives and helping our nation recover from the pandemic,” said John
Standley, Walgreens president. “Since the onset of the pandemic, Walgreens
has worked closely with the CDC, HHS and the Administration to help
accelerate the availability of COVID tests, ensure access to essential
medicines and products and serve as a safe and trusted source of
information in our communities. We are proud of how our pharmacists have
continued to serve our patients and look forward to leveraging our
nationwide footprint, community presence and pharmacist expertise to help administer
COVID-19 vaccines, once they become available.”
“CVS Health has been on the frontlines of
the fight against COVID-19, working across the health care spectrum in all
the communities we serve and that will continue to be the case when we have
a vaccine to dispense,” said Troy Brennan, Chief Medical Officer, CVS
Health.
Starting October 19, 2020, LTCFs will be
able to opt in and indicate which pharmacy partner their facility prefers
to have on-site. LTCFs are not mandated to participate in this program and
can request to use their current pharmacy contracts to support COVID-19
vaccination. Nursing homes can sign up via the National Healthcare Safety Network and
assisted living facilities can sign up via an online survey they will
receive.
To ensure success of this program, HHS and
OWS will continue coordination with jurisdictions, long-term care
facilities, and federal partners including the CMS, and expand engagement
with professional organizations including the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials,
the National Association of County and City Health
Officials, the American Health Care Association and Leading Age.
Immunization with a safe and effective
COVID-19 vaccine is a critical component of our nation’s strategy to reduce
COVID-19-related illness, hospitalizations, and deaths. Early in the
COVID-19 Vaccination Program, there may be a limited supply of COVID-19
vaccine, and vaccination efforts may focus on those critical to the
response, those providing direct care, and those at highest risk for
developing severe illness from COVID-19, including long-term care facility
residents.
Currently there are no COVID-19 vaccines
that have been authorized or approved by the Food and Drug Administration and
recommended by CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
However, the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-term Care Program is being
established in anticipation that one or more COVID-19 vaccines will be
available before the end of the year.
About Operation Warp Speed
(OWS):
OWS is a partnership among components of
the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense,
engaging with private firms and other federal agencies, and coordinating
among existing HHS-wide efforts to accelerate the development,
manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and
diagnostics.
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