Long-term care centers must get vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect the weakest patients and stop the virus from spreading in these places. People who live in older homes, long-term care facilities like nursing homes and assisted living facilities, and people who already have health problems are more likely to get very sick or die from COVID-19.
Getting patients and staff vaccinated can make long-term care centers much less likely to have cases. The people who work in health care and treat these patients will also be safe. Long-term care centers that offer vaccinations can help keep people who are especially vulnerable to getting sick, being hospitalized, or even dying from getting the virus.
COVID-19 outbreaks were most likely to happen in long-term care facilities like nursing homes and assisted living facilities, where older people who don’t have strong immune systems lived close together.
All over the world, governments and health officials have realized how important it is to protect these fragile groups and the people who care for them. So, many plans were made to make sure that COVID-19 vaccines were given to people in long-term care homes as soon as possible. Most of the time, these tactics included:
- Early access to vaccinations: Residents and staff of long-term care facilities were among the first people to get COVID-19 shots, as required by national or regional vaccination recommendations.
- Mobile vaccination teams: Some countries have mobile vaccination teams that visit long-term care facilities to give shots. The goal of this approach is to reach people who may have had trouble getting to vaccine sites.
- Education and participation: Long-term care centers tried to give residents and workers knowledge and deal with their unwillingness to get vaccinated. The government wanted to make sure that everyone had access to correct information about how safe and effective vaccines were.
- Booster doses: As study into COVID-19 vaccines grew, some countries started giving sensitive groups, like people in long-term care facilities, extra doses of the vaccine to make them more resistant to the virus and its different forms.
Table of Contents
What Vaccination Providers Need to Do
- Plan and set up dates for on-site clinics at a time that works for both parties.
- Get vaccines and other materials (like syringes, needles, and PPE) and hand them out.
- Follow all CMS COVID-19 entry rules for everyone who comes to the building.
- Follow all of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) and its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (“ACIP”) rules and suggestions for giving the COVID-19 vaccine.
- As required by the Safe Vaccine Administration, give the desired vaccine to inmates and workers on-site during the COVID-19 outbreak.
- Always keep an eye on the cold chain management for vaccines.
- Give the facility a copy of the COVID-19 Vaccine Information/Screening Form so that each resident and staffer who wants services can fill it out.
- Before giving the vaccine, get the COVID-19 Vaccine Information/Screening Form and read it over for each person who is going to get it. If you have one, you should also attach the CDC Vaccine Record.
- Make sure that everyone who gets the vaccine is given the EUA (Emergency Use Authorization) Fact Sheet for Recipients and Caregivers until the FDA gives its full approval.
- After getting vaccinated, all patients should be watched over in administrative areas that aren’t directly inspected by facility staff, like patient rooms.
- Patients should be given new CDC shot Record cards that show they have been vaccinated or got an extra shot.
- Within 24 hours of giving the shot, report the details.
- For people who can’t pay for the COVID vaccine, bill their insurance company to get the money back.
What LTCFs (Long-Term Care Facilities) Have to Do
- Give a name, email address, and phone number of someone who can be reached directly to help plan the COVID-19 vaccine event.
- Set up times for the on-site clinic and plan them straight with the provider.
- Fill out an Excel sheet with personal information for everyone who is due to get a COVID vaccine on the date of the site visit to confirm their COVID vaccination status in LINKS, and email it to the Provider.
- Make sure that both the patient and the staff are available on the date of the event, and set up shots at times that are convenient for both parties.
- Give people a central place to get vaccinated and be watched. For safe social distance, the place where vaccines are given should be at least 10 feet by 10 feet and have a table, two chairs, and a power source.
- Let’s say that a resident can’t get a vaccine in a public area. The Provider would have to give the shot somewhere else, like the resident’s room. In that case, the center must provide a witness for the 15 to 30 minutes of tracking that is suggested after the vaccine.
For their patients and workers, long-term care providers should pick the COVID-19 vaccine that works best for them, whether it’s in the community or on-site. Call us at (304) 202-5240 to find out more about how long-term care facilities can get the COVID-19 vaccine.