Why Tarrant County nursing homes are still waiting to be scheduled for COVID vaccine
Garden Terrace Alzheimer Center in south Fort Worth signed up to get the COVID-19 vaccine nearly three months ago but the the nursing home and many other long-term care centers in Tarrant County are still waiting to be scheduled.
“We get a lot of calls everyday from our residents’ family members asking when we will have the vaccines,” said Shelby Damron, director of nursing at the center. “All we can say is that we’ve done everything we’re suppose to do and the only thing we can do now is just wait patiently.”
In Texas, pharmacies began administering vaccines through the Long-Term Care Program on Dec. 28. The program is a partnership between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and participating pharmacies, including CVS and Walgreens.
The pharmacies are in charge of scheduling, coordinating and administering on-site vaccination with nursing homes and assisted living centers. The program is expected to last approximately two months from the date of the first vaccination, according to the CDC.
“Our work with long-term care facilities isn’t a mass vaccination effort — quite the opposite,” Larry J. Merlo, president and chief executive officer of CVS Health, wrote in a statement Wednesday.
“We’re dealing with a vulnerable population that requires onsite and, in some cases, in-room visits at facilities with fewer than 100 residents on average. Despite these challenges we remain on schedule, and the number of vaccines we administer will continue to rise as more facilities are activated by the states.”
As of Wednesday CVS had partnered with 2,012 long-term long-term care facilities and administered 31,283 vaccines across Texas. Neither CVS, the CDC nor Tarrant County had local data it could share with the Star-Telegram as of Thursday morning.
There are 219 nursing homes and assisted living center in Tarrant County with an estimated 18,366 residents, according to state health data. Of the 40 long-term care facilities contacted by the Star-Telegram, five had received vaccines and nine had been scheduled as of Thursday evening.
The enrollment form for facilities to choose their pharmacy provider opened on Oct. 19 and closed on Nov. 6. but facilities can still participate in the program by contacting their nearest participating pharmacy, according to the CDC.
Trinity Terrace retirement community and nursing home in downtown Fort Worth signed up on the first day the application opened but it was not scheduled until Thursday afternoon, according to Line Wislon, interim executive director.
“It’s concerning because the county is opening up mass vaccination sites for group 1B when the most vulnerable in group 1A are still not vaccinated,” said Wilson.
On Tuesday, Tarrant County officials announced they were looking to expand their mass vaccination efforts after Texas Department of State Health Services told public health and medical institutions on Dec. 29 to start vaccinating those 65 and older and those with health conditions.
For now Texas allows two categories of people to receive the vaccine, groups 1A and 1B. 1A includes health care workers and residents at long-term care facilities/nursing homes; 1B is anyone 65 or older or anyone over the age of 16 who has a chronic medical condition that puts them at increased risk for COVID-19 complications.
As of Thursday Trinity Terrace had received confirmation from CVS for 62 health care residents and the 100 staff members who provide health services. They are scheduled to be administered the vaccine on Jan. 25.
Trinity Terrace has 462 residents. The only choice for the other 400 residents and 160 staff members is to sign up with the county, which is administering vaccines at multiple locations.
More than 8,300 people — including first responders and health care workers — have received the vaccine in Tarrant County. Some people have waited hours outdoors amid cold temperatures.
“I’ve sent the link out and some have signed up and received the vaccine but for many of our residents that’s not an option,” Wilson said. “Some are in walkers and others don’t have the physical health or stamina to stand in line and wait for hours.”
Wilson said Trinity Terrace has reached out to the CDC and to state health officials so it can obtain the COVID-19 vaccine through its pharmacy and administer it like it does with the flu vaccine every year, but it is unlikely that will be approved.
The CDC website states: “Most of the COVID-19 vaccines currently in late-stage testing have stricter cold chain requirements than seasonal influenza vaccine, including requirements for some vaccines to be frozen. Additionally, each vaccine has different mixing requirements for administration and minimal interval requirements for a second dose, if indicated. Reporting requirements for COVID-19 vaccines will also be stricter than those for seasonal influenza vaccine.”
“I guess we don’t have a choice but to just sit and wait,” Wilson said. “Hopefully they bring some extra vaccines for some of the others.”
