State Of Texas Activates Federal COVID-19 Vaccination Program For Long-Term Care Staff, Residents

(Press Release) AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott today announced that the State of Texas will participate in the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program, a federal program to vaccinate residents and staff of long-term care facilities against COVID-19. The program is free of charge to facilities and sends staff and Pfizer vaccines from partnering Walgreens and CVS locations to these facilities to vaccinate residents and staff who volunteer to participate. Over 1,200 skilled nursing facilities and over 2,000 other long-term care facilities have signed up for this program — totaling more than 225,000 certified beds. The first vaccines included in this program will be provided to pharmacies the week of December 21, 2020, and the program will begin December 28, 2020. 

“The Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program will help the State of Texas facilitate safe vaccinations among some of our most vulnerable populations, and it will help us protect residents and staff of long-term care facilities from COVID-19,” said Governor Abbott. “I thank the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for offering this program free of charge to these facilities and for working alongside us to keep our communities safe.” 

Long-term care facilities that have not enrolled in the pharmacy program may choose to enroll with the Texas Department of State Health Services’ (DSHS) Immunization Program to receive vaccines and vaccinate their own staff and residents or partner with a local pharmacy or other vaccine provider.