OBERLIN, Ohio — Ohio nursing home facilities will be some of the first in the country to have access to the COVID-19 vaccine thanks to an early scaled launch by the CDC.

What You Need To Know

  • Gov. Mike DeWine said vaccinations will begin in five to 10 nursing homes starting Friday

  • This is happening through a federal program in partnership with pharmacies including Walgreens, CVS, PharmScript, and Absolute Pharmacy

  • Previously, these were scheduled to begin on Monday, but the CDC invited Ohio to participate in an early scaled launch

  • Residents and staff in nursing homes and assisted living facilities are part of the priority group to receive the vaccine in the first phase

Gov. Mike DeWine said vaccinations will begin in five to 10 nursing homes starting Friday. In fact, he will be in Sandusky, Cleveland, and Columbus on Friday to see the program kick off.

Kendal at Oberlin is a retirement community near Oberlin College. For 28 years, Barbara Thomas has been the CEO.

“We have never felt in it together with our whole community, our whole state, the whole nation, the whole world as we have with this particular situation,” said Thomas regarding the pandemic.

Thomas said Kendal at Oberlin is taking every COVID-19 precaution possible and each of the frontline workers are making tremendous sacrifices to keep everyone in the community safe.

Residents and staff in nursing homes and assisted living facilities are part of the priority group to receive the vaccine in the first phase.

 

Photo Courtesy: Kendal at Oberlin

“There’s no question a vaccine that is actually in Ohio today is absolutely the sign of what good is to come, and as residents have said to me so often, we’ve done this for nine months, now we know the end is in sight,” said Thomas.

 

Between residents and staff, there are more than 500 people on campus.

So far, there have been no deaths and only one resident has tested positive for COVID-19.

“We have hope on horizon here and we’ve gone through nine months. However, many months ahead now with the vaccine, it’s been worth it to not have one life, even not have one case where someone was seriously ill, not one hospitalization,” said Thomas.

Thomas credits the lack of spread to continued education, strict PPE and sanitation protocols, and the fact that family visits are happening virtually. Plus, congregation between residents is nonexistent.

“Their day-to-day routine and activities of delivering care and engaging with one another it’s a completely different world. And it’s one we’re anxious to get back to more of the normal, whatever that new normal is. It won’t be the same,” said Thomas.

Registered Nurse Kim Leek is working on the frontlines at Kendal at Oberlin.

“We talk about cross-contamination when you get home after you’ve been at work,” Leek said. “Keep your shoes in the garage, take your clothes off in the garage, wash them immediately. Don’t go through your house with the clothes on that you had from work.”

According to Thomas, to date, about 17 staff members have been infected with the virus and none were hospitalized.

“So, we go over and above here at Kendal,” Leek said. “So sometimes the health department will say, ‘Oh you can go back, you’re released,’ but we just like to do the 14 days to make sure that everybody is good when they come back to work.”

Gov. Mike DeWine said COVID-19 vaccinations will begin in five to 10 Ohio nursing homes starting Friday.

This is happening through a federal program in partnership with pharmacies including Walgreens, CVS, PharmScript, and Absolute Pharmacy.

Gov. DeWine said who goes first comes down to scheduling.

“All of the nursing homes really have the same priority,” DeWine said. “So we’re not picking one nursing home or another. It’s a question of how they schedule them and there’s a lot of logistics involved.”

Thomas said her staff has the flu vaccination process down pat and she expects Walgreens pharmacists will administer the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to at least 200 people living and working at Kendal at Oberlin sometime next week.

“We're delighted to have them come in and do that,” Thomas said. “It's very different from what we've done with our flu vaccine program for example. But, no, we are delighted, they are taking it and it’s their responsibility. It will be all their forms. We have our forms when we do the flu vaccine, but this is better because it's too significant to put that on our staff. They're dealing with COVID testing twice a week. That's enough.”

Thomas hopes to be able to offer the vaccine to everyone who wants it when enough is available.

“Our residents who’ve been polled have already shown 88 percent are ready to receive it. Another 10 percent still want to have consultation with their doctors,” said Thomas.

Regardless of the vaccine, Thomas said strict COVID-19 protection measures will continue.

“A return to some normal is coming and it can’t come fast enough. There’s no question, not fast enough. But we will wait it out and we will know if we have not lost one life it’s been worth it,” said Thomas.