All But One Pasadena Long-Term Care Facility to Receive COVID-19 Vaccine Through Federal Distribution Program

With the first doses of COVID-19 vaccine having arrived in Pasadena Thursday, all but one long-term care facility in the city are signed up to receive doses for residents and staff through a federal partnership, officials said.

The facilities, such as nursing homes, which have been hard hit by the pandemic, are first in line to receive vaccination under federal and state protocols, along with healthcare workers.

“Skilled nursing facility residents and staff are in the top priority tier for vaccines,” city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said. “We are hopeful that they will receive vaccinations before the end of the year.

“[The Pasadena Health Department] is working closely with all skilled nursing facilities in the city, including those not participating in the federal pharmacy partnership program, to ensure access to vaccines,” Derderian added. “PPHD staff conducted outreach to local facilities and provided technical assistance on enrollment so as to encourage participation in the program.”

As of Thursday, only one long-term care facility in the city was not enrolled in the federal program, under which organizations including CVS and Walgreens pharmacies are to distribute the vaccines to the facilities, according to Derderian.

PPHD planned to coordinate directly with the lone long term care facility that was not enrolled in the federal program to assure vaccines are received,she said.

Pasadena Director of Public Health Dr. Ying-Ying Goh said the city’s health department was “pursuing all means of vaccinating residents and staff of nursing homes, including the FPP, and providing vaccine and technical assistance to nursing home staff who are able to manage and vaccinate their own staff and residents independent of the FPP.”

The federal FPP is meant to “facilitate safe vaccination of this critical patient population, while reducing the burden on LTC facilities and health departments,” according to a statement from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

“At no cost to facilities, the program provides end-to-end management of the COVID-19 vaccination process, including cold chain management, on-site vaccinations, and fulfillment of reporting requirements,” the statement said. “LTCF staff who have not received COVID-19 vaccine can also be vaccinated as part of the program.

The Los Angeles County Department of County Health announced last week that it would not participate in the program, opting instead to have vaccines shipped directly to facilities in hopes of expediting the process. The federal program was expected to begin administering vaccines on Dec. 28, while county officials said they hoped facilities in their jurisdiction would receive vaccines as much as a week earlier.

A specific timeline of when vaccinations would be distributed to long-term care facilities in Pasadena had not been determined, according to Derderian.

Officials have said vaccines are not expected to be widely available to the general public until summer.