Shots given at first outbreak site in U.S.
Nursing home in Wash. vaccinated against virus
KIRKLAND, Wash. — Residents and staff members at a Seattle-area nursing home that had the first deadly COVID-19 outbreak in the United States began receiving vaccines Monday.
The first death associated with the Life Care Center of Kirkland, Washington, was reported in late February, and more than 40 people connected to the facility later died of the coronavirus.
The Seattle Times reported that Monday was the first day long-term care facilities can receive vaccines under a federal partnership with CVS and Walgreens, which are handling shots for the bulk of the state’s approximately 4,000 long-term care facilities.
Along with health care workers, Washington state has recommended that nursing home residents receive the vaccine first, followed by residents of assisted-living facilities, adult family homes and other care sites.
State officials have set a goal for all residents to receive the first dose of the two-dose vaccine by the end of January.
Meanwhile, a huge U.S. study of another COVID-19 vaccine candidate got underway Monday. Public health experts say more options in addition to the two vaccines now being dispensed — one made by Pfizer and its German partner Biontech, the other by Moderna — are critical to amassing enough shots for the country and the world.
The candidate, made by Novavax Inc., is the fifth to reach final-stage testing in the United States. Some 30,000 volunteers are needed to prove whether the shot, a different kind than its Pfizer and Moderna competitors, really works and is safe.
“If you want to have enough vaccine to vaccinate all the people in the U.S. who you’d like to vaccinate, up to 85 percent or more of the population, you’re going to need more than two companies,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, said Monday.
In other developments: Nearly 1.3 million people went through U.S. airports Sunday, the highest level of air travel in more than nine months. The Transportation Security Administration said it screened 1,284,599 people Sunday, the highest total since March 15.
More than 10 million people have traveled by air since Dec. 18, including six days with at least 1 million people getting screened. Cruise ships without passengers will visit the Port of Los Angeles in coming weeks in a step toward a future resumption of service by the industry.
Ships from Princess Cruises, Holland America and Norwegian Cruise Line will periodically dock at the Los Angeles Cruise Terminal starting this week and through 2021. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly plans to get a COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday as part of a larger plan to give shots to selected state officials so that state government can continue to operate during the pandemic.
The Democratic governor confirmed her plans Monday.