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COVID-19 Vaccinations Set To Begin At Pa. Long-Term Care Facilities

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Starting today, long-term care facilities in Pennsylvania will begin distributing doses of a COVID-19 vaccine to their residents.

Walgreens is one of the pharmacies that will be distributing the vaccine to long-term care facilities across Pennsylvania and right here in Pittsburgh.

"Walgreens is very proud to be a part of this historic milestone to begin administering Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine to our most vulnerable populations," said John Standley, president, Walgreens in a press release. "With more than a decade of experience administering various vaccines, we have the deep expertise to support this unprecedented effort to allow our nation to emerge from this pandemic."

CVS is the other pharmacy in our area that will be doing the same.

The federal partnership with the CDC is called the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program.

Both pharmacies will vaccinate residents and staff on site for both the initial shot and follow-up booster shot.

Just last week, CVS began vaccinating people with the Pfizer vaccine in long-term care facilities in 12 states.

CVS says that the majority of residents and staff at facilities will be fully vaccinated three to four weeks after the first visit.

"Vaccinating one of our most vulnerable populations is the latest milestone in our multifaceted pandemic response, which includes testing more than 10 million people for the virus since March," stated Karen S. Lynch, currently Executive Vice President, CVS Health and President, Aetna, who will become the company's next President and CEO on February 1. "The eventual availability of COVID-19 vaccines in communities across the country will bring us one step closer to overcoming the most significant health challenge of our lifetime."

This will depend on which vaccine they receive.

CVS says it expects to have its long-term care facility vaccination effort completed in approximately 12 weeks.

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