Nursing homes that are not already enrolled as full providers in the CDC’s COVID-19 Vaccination Program now can obtain single-dose vials of a COVID-19 vaccine and provide the shots directly to residents and staff.
The move aims to expand the number of healthcare providers who can administer these vaccines in nursing homes as part of a larger federal push to prevent COVID-19 cases this winter.
Eligibilty rules
To be eligible to participate, long-term care facilities must partner with a pharmacy enrolled as a COVID-19 vaccine provider. The nursing facility cannot already be a regular, fully enrolled COVID-19 vaccine provider, the CDC stated on an informational webpage posted Dec. 16.
Eligible facilities can submit sub-provider agreements, which will be valid through March 15, 2023, unless that timeframe is extended by the CDC. Only one drug, the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, is available through the program.
The CDC encouraged facilities to be aware of any state-specific requirements for training or data reporting that might interfere with participation in the program. It also recommended that facilities appoint a staff member to lead their vaccine programs.
Reporting requirements
Long-term care facilities that participate in the program will not need to comply with certain immunization reporting requirements required of long-term care pharmacies. These requirements had prevented facilities from accessing and administering the shots themselves, according to the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living.
AHCA/NCAL and LeadingAge have advocated for increasing the ability of long-term care facilities to directly administer COVID-19 vaccines.
In a Friday statement, Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge said, “although not all nursing homes have the ability to store vaccines and the staff needed to be designated as vaccinators, the change moves us in the right direction.”
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