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Virginia Health Care Association | Virginia Center for Assisted Living

Act Now to Sign Up for the CDC COVID-19 Vaccine Program

Act Now to Sign Up for the CDC COVID-19 Vaccine Program

It’s time to prepare for the safe and rapid dissemination of a COVID-19 vaccine to long-term care residents, once available. It is important for facilities to know their options and enroll or opt out of CDC’s Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care today. Pharmacy partners will provide on-site COVID-19 vaccination of residents in LTC facilities, at no cost to the facility. This program provides end-to-end  management of the COVID-19 vaccination process, including cold chain management, on-site vaccinations, and fulfillment of reporting requirements. Assisted living facilities can sign up via REDcap: https://redcap.link/LTCF.

DSS issued a memo on October 20 encouraging assisted living facilities to enroll in the Pharmacy Partnership for Long Term Care Program.

About the Pharmacy Partnership for LTC Program

On Friday, October 16, the White House announced the Pharmacy Partnership for Long Term Care Program—a national vaccine distribution program for long term care residents.

The COVID-19 vaccine will likely become available in phases over the coming months. To prepare, the federal government has partnered with CVS and Walgreens to distribute and administer the vaccine to residents in LTC facilities. This program is free of charge and covers all the reporting requirements associated with the vaccine. Vaccination for health care workers will be handled by states, and likely take place in early phases of distribution.

Starting on October 19, LTC facilities (nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other congregate settings for older adults) will have two weeks to register with the CDC on how they want to receive and administer the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available. Nursing homes will be able to register through the NHSN website, while assisted living communities and other congregate settings can register through an online survey.

We strongly encourage all long term care facilities to participate and register as soon as the portals open. This is critical to ensuring our vulnerable residents are among the first to receive a vaccine when it becomes available.

How to Register

CDC launched the registration process on October 19, which will remain live until 11:59 pm on October 29, 2020. The registration process can be accessed via the following sites:

Skilled Nursing Facilities: National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) (Only CMS-certified SNFs should sign up via NHSN. Other levels of care should use the REDCap portal.)

Assisted Living, Independent Living and Other Congregate Care Settings: REDCap

Providers will have four options to select from:

  1. Have CVS (partnering with Omnicare) come to your building and administer the vaccine to residents and any staff not previously vaccinated.
  2. Have Walgreens (partnering with PharMerica) come to your building and administer the vaccine to residents and any staff not previously vaccinated.
  3. Work with your existing pharmacy partner (LTC pharmacy), if they have the capability to meet the requirements.
  4. Partner with another entity such as your hospital health care system, local/state health department, etc. Important: Before selecting options 3 or 4, the provider should confirm that this entity can meet all the CDC requirements (including cold chain management) and has signed a provider agreement with your state).

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