CVS begins to give vaccines at nursing homes
CVS Health on Monday began vaccinating residents and staff of long-term care facilities in 12 states, the first step in an inoculation campaign against the coronavirus that will extend to virtually every state, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
Walgreens and other drug stores also will conduct vaccinations as part of what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-term Care Program.
CVS, which plans to expand its campaign to 36 more states and Washington on Dec. 28, said in a statement that its representatives will visit each of its assigned facilities three times and that the majority of residents and staff will have received both vaccine doses within four weeks of the first visit.
“CVS Health expects to complete its long-term care facility vaccination effort in approximately 12 weeks,” the statement said.
5.9M doses of Moderna vaccine roll out
Around 5.9 million doses of the Moderna vaccine are being rolled out to 3,500 locations around the country this week, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Monday. That’s in addition to the 2 million doses of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine expected to be distributed this week, said Azar, who added that federal officials expect around 50 million people to have received their first dose of a vaccine by the end of January.
Bidens receive their first doses of vaccine
President-elect Joe Biden on Monday received his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on live television as part of a growing effort to convince the American public the inoculations are safe. His wife, Jill Biden, got the shot earlier in the day.
“I’m ready,” said Biden, who was administered the dose at a hospital in Newark, Delaware, and declined the option to count to three before the needle was inserted into his left arm. “I’m doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared when it’s available to take the vaccine. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Biden praised the health care workers and said President Donald Trump’s administration “deserves some credit getting this off the ground.” He urged Americans to wear masks during the upcoming Christmas holiday and not travel unless necessary.
Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other lawmakers were given doses Friday. They chose to publicize their injections as part of a campaign to convince Americans that the vaccines are safe and effective amid skepticism, especially among Republicans.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband are expected to receive shots next week.
Other top headlines
h More than 3 out of 5 states have had their deadliest week of the pandemic this month, a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins data shows. California alone has reported about 10 deaths every hour and set a new record for deaths in the seven-day period ending Sunday. That state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, will quarantine for 10 days after one of his staffers tested positive, his office said.
h The National Institutes of Health is hoping to launch a clinical study to examine what’s behind the rare allergic reactions to the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine that a handful of health care workers in the U.K. and U.S. had, The Washington Post reported Monday.
h While acknowledging Tennessee as “ground zero for a surge in sickness,” Gov. Bill Lee on Sunday night tightened statewide restrictions on social gatherings for the next 30 days but stopped short of a mask mandate. The state ranked No. 1 in the country for infections in the past week, according to CDC data adjusted for population.
h The U.S. has more than 17.8 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 317,700 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The global totals: More than 77 million cases and almost 1.7 million deaths.