• Vaccine administered at St. Paul’s nursing home.

St. Paul’s staff, residents inoculated on site through partnership with CVS

SAN DIEGO

Being one of the first people to get a freshly launched vaccination is not new to 79-year-old skilled nursing home resident Eldon Thompson.

In his younger days, Thompson received the first generation of the polio vaccine after his father had previously been infected by the disease. On Wednesday, the Vietnamera U.S. Navy veteran was the first of 45 residents and 95 staff members at St. Paul’s McColl Health Center in San Diego to receive the initial dose of Pfizer’s novel coronavirus vaccination.

Thompson said he was “totally ready” a few minutes before getting his shot, adding that he had researched the vaccination and the process through which it was tested and approved beforehand.

“I’m scared (of COVID-19) because of my age — 79 years old — and it seems to me that I’m in pretty good health, so I can maybe keep kicking away,” Thompson said. “I’m seeing some young people — younger than me — they’re failing (with the virus). So I’m happy the report is showing why not get this (vaccine), there’s no downside.”

Through a partnership between the Centers for Disease Control and CVS Pharmacy, 15,000 long-term care facilities across California began their initial doses of the vaccine this week, said Lisa Kalajian, CVS Health district leader.

Instead of having residents who either have limited mobility or are vulnerable to the novel coronavirus leave to be inoculated at clinics or hospitals, pharmacists and technicians from CVS Pharmacy are going into the facilities to administer the shots. Hosting the clinics inside of nursing homes also makes it more convenient for the health care staff, many of whom are working longer hours as the pandemic continues to take its toll on their daily lives.

“The fact that they came here is