Following the Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use approval of the nation’s first COVID-19 vaccines, Kaiser Family Foundation analyses have emerged showing which states and cities are in need of the most vaccines to target initial priority populations.
States with the highest percentages of priority populations as a share of total adults included North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York and Ohio. The states with the largest number of people in those groups, however, are California, Texas, New York and Florida.
The American Health Care Association / National Center for Assisted Living encouraged governors and public health officials to ensure that residents and employees of long-term care facilities were prioritized before everyone else for COVID-19 vaccination so that they could receive both doses of the vaccine by March 1. Even as the end of the month approached, however, that goal had not been met. Skilled nursing facilities were further along in the process than assisted living communities due to their prioritization in the federal long-term care vaccination program.
A new toolkit created by industry clinicians aims to help long-term care operators directly address the questions staff members, residents and their families are asking about COVID-19 vaccines and getting vaccinated.
The kit includes a PowerPoint presentation that providers can share with employees and residents, as well as a sample medical director’s letter about vaccines, which can be sent to families.
Additionally, the kit covers strategies to boost confidence in the vaccines and includes a link to a new episode of the organization’s COVID-19 video series: “AMDA COVID-19 Grand Rounds: Pearls from Your Colleagues.”
