More local seniors get vaccine
NORTH SMITHFIELD – After some trying delays, residents and staff at St. Antoine Residence on Mendon Road finally began getting vaccinations for COVID-19 last week.
The inoculations came as the first phase of what will be two needed shots against the deadly virus three weeks apart under the state-supervised vaccination program.
The state continued to expand the program this week with additional vaccination programs in Woonsocket and Blackstone Valley nursing homes administered by CVS Health and Walgreen’s technicians.
Melissa A. Smith, director of marketing and communications for St. Antoine and the nearby The Villa assisted living residence, said the first round of shots were given on Dec. 29 and Jan. 5 and went to just the residents and staff at St. Antoine, a nursing home licensed for 260 beds and currently home to about 190 residents.
St. Antoine Residence intends to vaccinate as many of its residents and staff as possible but Smith said some people may not receive a shot due to pre-exisiting health conditions or as a result of exercising their right refuse one.
Employees who do not receive a shot will continue to follow the N-95 masking protocols that have been in place at the senior and disabled residences since the pandemic began, according to Smith.
The start of the state’s vaccination program has been a moving target of sorts for some nursing homes as scheduled administration dates were postponed or rescheduled.
Smith said St. Antoine was very happy to see its shots arrive and its vaccination program finally started and hopes that those for the The Villa will soon follow.
“The Rhode Island Department of
Health is anticipating that The Villa and all licensed Assisted Livings Facilities will be issued the COVID-19 vaccine mid-January,” Smith said.
Under the initial round of vaccinations at the Residence, Smith said about 60 employees and 75 residents received their first round of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine and the remaining staff and residents offered their first doses on Jan. 5.
“The second round of vaccinations for The Residence have been tentatively scheduled for Jan. 19 and Jan. 26,” Miller said.
Like many nursing homes in state, St. Antoine, the largest facility of its kind, has faced difficult challenges during the pandemic including the loss of some residents to COVID-19, Miller noted. The Villa, an assisted living facility set up apartment-style for about 75 residents, has been more fortunate with some illness during the pandemic but no deaths, according to Miller.
In a letter to residents and their families, Miller noted that more information on the future inoculation dates will be provided as they become known.
“This has been an incredibly long and hard year but with the arrival of the vaccine to our campus hope has been restored!,” Miller said.
“Our residents and staff have all found comfort in knowing that 2021 may bring their families back into our community again. We miss you all and look forward to seeing you soon!,” Miller added.