It’s ‘every man/woman for themselves’ to get vaccinated in assisted-living facilities

You can’t blame the roughly 112,000 residents of Florida’s assisted-living facilities, and their families, for being angry.

When Gov. DeSantis first announced his plans for distributing the COVID-19 vaccine, he said Floridians in long-term care facilities would get top priority. Along with nursing home residents, those in assisted living expected to be first in line.

That approach made sense, since about 40 percent of Florida’s Covid deaths are linked to long-term care facilities. In the three weeks after Thanksgiving, cases and deaths in nursing homes doubled, AARP reported Dec. 23. So you can understand the urgency felt by those in assisted living, which is just one level lower in the continuum of care for older Floridians who can no longer live on their own.

On the same day of the AARP report, however, DeSantis issued an executive order that opened vaccine eligibility to anyone 65 and over. And suddenly, 4 million more Floridians were scrambling for a spot in the state’s disjointed system of distribution and communication.

And just as suddenly, Job One was no longer Job One.

“These elderly and infirm were supposedly the highest on the priority list, yet they languish as thousands of others have gotten vaccine,” former Sun Sentinel columnist Mike Mayo wrote Wednesday on Facebook.

For weeks, Mayo has been a squeaky wheel, trying to get the vaccine for his mom, who lives in a Hollywood assisted-living facility where 11 of 110 residents have tested positive in the past two weeks, with at least two hospitalized. On Wednesday, while working on something else for his mom, he spotted an open appointment at Memorial Healthcare in Hollywood next week and secured it for her.

“It’s apparently every man/woman for themselves in our state and country these days,” wrote Mayo, who also reached out to influence leaders to try to get something done. “It’s sad that the rest of the 100-plus assisted-living residents … many of whom have serious health conditions and no family members to advocate for them, still don’t have a date set for their on-site clinic.”

Sad, indeed, that the national drug store chains that secured contracts to deliver the vaccine in Florida’s long-term care settings — including the one Mayo’s mom lives in — still can’t say when they will perform Job One.

When the governor prioritized people in long-term care, he proclaimed that “time is of the essence.” Yet based on reports from Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees and senior-living trade groups, only 10 percent of assisted-living residents have been vaccinated. For nursing homes, the figure is about 65 percent. And only about 30 percent of nursing home staff have received their first dose.

While the program to vaccinate nursing home residents began Dec. 16, assisted-living residents heard very little until this week. DeSantis says the state has hired a private company — CDR Health — to vaccinate residents whose facility had not signed up with CVS or Walgreens to administer the vaccine. It’s still not clear when CVS and Walgreens will deliver in the other homes. (Mayo said a CDR team showed up Thursday at his mother’s facility and began vaccinating residents.)

Part of the confusion is the state structure. The Florida Department of Health has been receiving shipments of the vaccine, but the Agency for Health Care Administration regulates assisted-living facilities.

Perhaps because of that — and the haphazard rollout at the federal level — assisted-living facilities weren’t “activated” — as a trade industry representative said — along with nursing homes. The state didn’t activate assisted-living facilities until Dec. 29, which helps explain why first doses only began in some homes this week.

The slow rollout isn’t the only contradiction in DeSantis’ actions compared with his pledge to protect older Floridians.

In September, the governor resumed visits to nursing homes that he had suspended in March. DeSantis said the change was necessary for the emotional well-being of residents.

Yet the state issued no requirement to test visitors. Each facility sets its own rules. Critics of DeSantis blame that decision for the new surge.

“Optional testing was a serious flaw,” Brian Lee told the Tampa Bay Times. He’s director of Families for Better Care, which advocates for those with family members in nursing homes.

“Absent any policy,” Lee said, “this surge is going to increase. People are going to die. It’s a total disaster, because the governor and his team could have saved lives.”

Kristen Knapp is executive director of the Florida Long Term Care Association, which is the main nursing home trade group. She pointed out that vaccinations at senior facilities will mean that “we get to return to normalcy.”

As Knapp noted, “These buildings are

(the residents’) homes. The vaccine will mean communal dining again and worship services. It’s so important.”

DeSantis contributed to the new surge in cases by prohibiting cities and counties from enforcing mask ordinances. The state now must race to vaccinate those most at risk before the surge claims more victims. Where are the actions to go with his words?