Colorado | COVID-19 Vaccine Updates

January 4, 2021 | COVID-19 Vaccine Update and Packet Information  

Confirmed as of 10:30 a.m. MT

The new year is looking brighter than ever before as we celebrate the coronavirus vaccine coming to The Ridge Pinehurst. CVS Pharmacy have confirmed residents and team members will receive their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, January 12.

A team from CVS Pharmacy will come to the community to administer the vaccine to all residents and team members. The vaccine will be administered in two doses. The community is pleased that all residents are receptive to getting the vaccine.

Below you’ll find the vaccine clinic dates at The Ridge Pinehurst.

• First Clinic Date: Tuesday January 12, 2021
• Second Clinic Date: Once clinic #1 is completed clinic #2 and #3 will be scheduled
• Clinic #3 is for new team members and new residents who have joined The Ridge Pinehurst after clinic #1

The Ridge Senior Living invites you to learn more about the vaccine and the next steps in the process and created a packet of information including:

1. Frequently Asked Question provided by the American Medical Director Association (AMDA)
2. The Pfizer information sheets
3. Myths and facts of the vaccine
4. Consent form from CVS, which must be filled out prior to receiving the vaccine. These forms can be printed and returned to the concierge or emailed to covid19@theridgepinehurst.com.

Please get ready now. Residents and team members will need a current copy of their insurance card. If you do not have one, please get one. The vaccine is free. Insurance may be charged for supplies and administration of the vaccine. If you do not have insurance, you will not be charged.

Also, we’re excited to announce the installation of the Auto-Cleaning Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization (NPBI) System will begin on Monday, January 4. The half-million-dollar technology will be used to clean indoor air and has been proven to deactivate viruses, including COVID-19. It is projected the system will be operational by the end of January in common areas and all apartments.

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December 16, 2020 | COVID-19 Vaccine Q&A

If you missed the Facebook event live, please view the recording below of the COVID-19 vaccine Q&A.

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December 11, 2020 | The Ridge Pinehurst is registered for the first phase of COVID-19 vaccine distribution.

While the vaccine is not yet available in the United States, The Ridge Pinehurst is ready to receive the vaccine to protect residents and associates in our community as soon as it is available. As a Cappella managed community, The Ridge Pinehurst is registered for the first phase of the vaccine. Priority distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine will go to seniors and healthcare workers who are at the most risk of contracting the virus. We remain in constant communication with the Colorado Department of Health, the CDC, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as details of the distribution process continue to develop.

We want to share with you what we know now about the vaccine, how it will be distributed, what we are doing to keep associates, residents, and families informed about the process, and our continued commitment to testing, virus mitigation, and the overall quality of life for residents.

How will it be administered?

Colorado, as well as each state, has its own specific timeline and process for distribution and administration of the vaccine. Colorado has decided to use Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccine. The FDA has approved the Pfizer vaccine as of December 10^th and will meet in mid-December to discuss Moderna 2-dose vaccines which have been reported as being 95% effective.

So far Colorado will receive 47,000 Pfizer vaccines, which will be distributed to all healthcare workers (180,000) and skilled nursing facility residents (15,000). About 25% of those two populations can be served on the first shipment of the vaccine. We anticipate Colorado will support and follow the CDC tier guidelines for distribution but that has not yet been confirmed.

The Ridge Pinehurst is registered with the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program. We will work with our assigned pharmacy, Walgreens, who will store, distribute, and administer the vaccine, which is free of charge to residents and team members. The pharmacy will also:

• Order vaccines and associated supplies (e.g., syringes, needles, personal protective equipment).
• Ensure cold chain management for the vaccine.
• Report all required vaccination data to the local, state, and federal jurisdictions within 72 hours of administering each dose.
• Adhere to all applicable Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) COVID-19 testing requirements.

The Ridge Pinehurst will not have any authority over setting up the time and dates of those vaccinations. The Pharmacy will be in charge of scheduling and the availability of the vaccine. The pharmacy will then come to our community to administer the vaccines to residents and associates. Three visits over approximately two months will likely be needed to administer both doses and vaccinate new residents and team members. If the resident or team member receives the Pfizer vaccine they must wait 21 days before receiving their second dose. If the resident or team member receives the Moderna vaccine then they must wait 28 days before their second dose. The vaccine starts to become effective 2 weeks after the second dose has been administered.

Some of the details of how and when and who will get the vaccine first are still being worked out. At the moment, we believe team members will be included and that the first tier to receive the vaccine will be residents of skilled nursing, assisted living, and memory care communities. We are waiting to hear if residential (independent) living residents and team members will also be included in the first-tier distribution.

How soon will residents and associates receive the vaccine?

The FDA will meet in mid-December to discuss both the Pfizer and Moderna 2-dose vaccines which have reported to be 95% effective. Once approval is given, the federal government will distribute the vaccine to the states for inoculations. The soonest vaccines could be administered in Colorado would be December 21^st for Pfizer and December 28^th for Moderna. We are still waiting to hear if the FDA has authorized Emergency Use Authorization (EAU) of the vaccines, once this is granted we will have a better idea of when the vaccines will become available for our community.

Even though the vaccine is right around the corner we are not out of this pandemic yet. It is important to continue to follow public safety guidelines including physical distancing, frequent hand-washing, limiting group gatherings, restricting nonessential travel, and wearing a mask while we wait for a COVID-19 vaccine.

Join us next week on December 16^th for a Facebook Live event where we will review the latest information regarding the vaccine and distribution plan as we know it. To access the Facebook Live event, like the Cappella Living Solutions Facebook page and visit the page on December 16^th at 10:15 am.

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Protecting Senior Living Residents With COVID-19 Vaccine

A message from our management partner, Capella Living Solutions:

At an emergency meeting on December 1^st, the Advisory Community on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended that health care personnel and residents of long-term care communities would be first to receive the COVID-19 vaccination once the vaccine has been authorized by the FDA, which could come as soon as mid-December.

All 23 CLC-Cappella Communities Prepared to Receive COVID-19 Vaccine

Priority distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine to seniors and healthcare workers who are at the most risk of contracting the virus is welcome news. CLC-Cappella is ready to receive the vaccine to protect residents and associates in all 23 of our communities as soon as it is available. We remain in constant communication with state health departments, the CDC, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as details of the distribution process continue to develop.

We want to share with you what we know now about the vaccine, how it will be distributed, what we are doing to keep associates, residents, and families informed about the process, and our continued commitment to testing, virus mitigation, and the overall quality of life for residents.

Vaccine Benefits

COVID-19 is a serious, life-threatening virus that has impacted the entire world. Protecting the most vulnerable Americans has been the top priority and vaccines have been developed at unprecedented speeds. The U.S. vaccine safety system has procedures in place to ensure the vaccine is as safe as possible. Clinical trials must show a vaccine is safe and effective before it can be approved for use. Nearly all of the nation’s long term care providers have signed on to participate in the government’s delivery program.

The FDA will meet in mid-December to discuss both the Pfizer and Moderna 2-dose vaccines which have reported to be 95% effective. Once approval is given, the federal government will distribute the vaccine to the states for inoculations. Each state has its own specific timeline and process for distribution and administration. We anticipate all of the states we support will follow the CDC tier guidelines for distribution but that has not been confirmed.

Having early access to the vaccine to protect residents and associates is the first step in being able to lift restrictions. Combined with current safety measures such as face masks, physical distancing, and testing the vaccine will significantly reduce the spread of the disease and chances of exposure to the virus.

Pharmacy Partnership for Distribution

All CLC-Cappella communities are registered with the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program. We will work with our assigned pharmacy, Walgreens, CVS, or both, who will store, distribute, administered the vaccine which is free of charge to residents and team members. The pharmacy will also:

• Order vaccines and associated supplies (e.g., syringes, needles, personal protective equipment).
• Ensure cold chain management for the vaccine.
• Report all required vaccination data to the local, state, and federal jurisdictions within 72 hours of administering each dose.
• Adhere to all applicable Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) COVID-19 testing requirements.

We anticipate the pharmacy will set up clinic dates and times for resident vaccinations and the pharmacy teams, working closely with our clinical teams, and will come to our communities to administer the vaccines to residents. Three visits over approximately two months will likely be needed to administer both doses and vaccinate new residents.

Some of the details of how and when and who will get the vaccine first are still being worked out. At the moment, we believe team members will be included and that the first tier to receive the vaccine will be residents of skilled nursing and assisted living communities. We are waiting to hear if residential (independent) living residents and team members will also be included in the first-tier distribution.

Keeping Team Members, Residents and Families Informed

We know many residents, team members and families have questions about the vaccine benefits and side effects, what options, if any, will be offered to residents or team members who decline the vaccine, etc. We will share more information as soon as it is available. We will continue to share resources from the CDC that answer questions specifically around vaccine development, safety, and why getting the vaccine is beneficial. Read more about the safety of the vaccine here and, answers to questions about vaccine administration in our communities here. Learn more about the benefits of the vaccine from the CDC here.

In addition, we anticipate we will hold Family Town Hall Webinars as more information becomes available and throughout the process, giving team members, residents, and families an opportunity to ask questions and feel comfortable with the process. We are also providing hand-out materials to communities as they become available.

Continued Diligence

We are excited to add the vaccine to our arsenal of tools that will help eradicate the virus from our communities, and eventually, assist in a return to normalcy. We also understand that many are experiencing “COVID combat fatigue,” growing weary from restrictions and isolation. While the vaccine will help control the virus, it will not completely irradicate it for quite some time, so we must continue to take precautions to stay healthy and protect ourselves and each other from this virus. We will continue with our robust infection control and testing program, and we ask for your continued diligence and patience as we all do our part to stop the spread of the virus.