INDIANAPOLIS — The state of Indiana has set aside 40,000 initial doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for residents and staff at long-term care nursing homes. CVS Health said thousands of the most vulnerable people have received the vaccine at about 75 facilities in the three days since the on-site clinics began Monday.
"There has probably not been another moment in all of our careers outside of giving a COVID vaccination and really feeling that I'm making a difference and I am truly potentially saving this person's life in front of me,” said Jason Pribble, CVS Health district leader.
More than half of Indiana's 7,812 COVID-19 deaths are residents at long-term care facilities. So, they were put in first priority for the vaccine along with health care workers.
"I want to stress that we are moving in a very intentional order of eligibility for the vaccine,” said Dr. Lindsay Weaver, Chief Medical Officer for Indiana Department of Health. “We want to ensure that we have enough vaccine before we open up vaccinations to additional groups. To date, no vaccine has gone to waste or expired."
“Right now, we absolutely do have the vaccine, and we don't have any issues with supply and no cause for concern that we won't be able to get through our plan of getting into these 1,000 long term care facilities over the next few weeks and getting that first round of vaccinations in,” Pribble said.
CVS Health will return to each location four weeks later to deliver the required second dose of the Moderna vaccine.
"Residents are losing other friends,” Pribble said. “Family members are being lost, and this is that first step forward of giving that hope."
CVS will take New Year's Day off, but the vaccine clinics resume Saturday with a plan to visit every facility on its schedule for the first round of shots by the end of January.