COVID-19 vaccines have arrived in New Hampshire long-term care settings and are starting to roll out, following some concerns about minimal communication and scheduling issues.
Long-term care facilities get their vaccines through a federal partnership with CFS and Walgreens. Nursing homes in New Hampshire have been particularly hard hit, with 79 percent of the state’s deaths in long-term care facilities, the highest rate in the country.
The New Hampshire Veterans Home in Tilton, an active outbreak site that has recently seen declining active cases and 36 total deaths, said it would begin vaccinating people on Wednesday.
Woodlawn Care Center gave residents and staff their first doses on Tuesday. The nursing home in Newport was the site of a recently concluded COVID-19 outbreak, where 33 residents and 24 staff tested positive and four people died.
Manager Chris Martin called the arrival of the vaccine ‘a relief’.
“I realize we won’t be able to turn it on or get life back to normal in here, but it’s nice to know that at least we won’t have an outbreak that affects 80 percent of the residents and a third of the staff, ‘he said.
Martin said almost every resident wanted to get vaccinated, but only about 60 percent of the staff did. Other facilities say they are seeing similar trends, likely due to misinformation about side effects online and hesitation about a new vaccine.
“There are some downright conspiracy theories … things that have been debunked, like causing infertility problems, that have been debunked,” he said. “Some people were a bit shocked by the new species in England.”
More staff will be vaccinated if another clinic is held later next month, Martin said.
According to the New Hampshire Health Care Association, nearly all long-term care facilities in the state have been in contact with their pharmacy partner. But some say they are still waiting for official confirmation on the clinic’s dates.
Health officials said this week that they hope to have inoculated 100,000 of the state’s most at-risk people with at least their first dose by the end of January.