With two COVID-19 vaccines now authorized by the FDA for emergency use, CVS Health has stepped up to help administer vaccinations across the country. In this edition of Healthy Communities News, we spotlight the vaccine effort in long-term care facilities. They are among the first to receive the shots, since these facilities have accounted for nearly 40% of the overall fatalities.
Many seniors and their caregivers were thrilled to be given priority in the vaccine rollout. “I want to be the first person on the list,” said Coraline Diggs, a resident at Genesis HealthCare in Maryland. The effort has been a ray of hope for those giving the vaccinations, as well. CVS Pharmacist Jocelyn Schrum is eagerly anticipating a return to more normal times. “I’m looking forward so much to when I can give my patients hugs again.”
Now that vaccines are finally here, we want you to share in the excitement of this historic moment. So, for our first 2021 podcast, we’re taking you behind-the-scenes with Dr. Jocelyn Shrum, one of the CVS pharmacists responsible for training people across the country who make it all work. We speak with her the day after she and her team first administered vaccines in Nashville, Tennessee, where she gets vaccinated herself. Then we check in with Jewel Statham, a nursing assistant, and Julian Holland, a resident at Heartland Promedica in Ohio — who just got vaccinated as well. May listening make you as hopeful for the year ahead as they are.