COVID-19 vaccination at Madison Memorial Hospital | EastIdahoNews.com file photo
BOISE (AP) – Vaccinations for about 10,200 residents and staff at 75 long-term care facilities in Idaho will begin on Monday, officials said.
Idaho Department of Health and Wellness spokeswoman Niki Forbing-Orr told Idaho Press that most of Idaho’s 315 long-term care facilities will receive the vaccine from CVS Health Care and Walgreens through Pharmacy Partnership organized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
About 1,350 Idaho residents died from COVID-19, and more than 500 of the deaths occurred in long-term care facilities. Experts say that older adults tend to be more susceptible to death and serious illnesses caused by the coronavirus. About 135,000 Idaho residents have been infected.
Zendi Meharry is the director of clinical operations for Cascadia Healthcare, a group that manages several qualified nursing centers in Idaho.
“What we have heard from residents is, ‘We just want our life back, we want our families to visit us, play cards with our friends,'” said Meharry.
Residents and workers in long-term care facilities are in the first group scheduled to receive vaccines. This group also includes frontline health professionals. About 130,000 people are in that group.