Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine announced that the commonwealth has activated Phase B of the Federal Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program to expand its mission to include personal care and assisted living facilities, among others, throughout Pennsylvania.
The department also requested the federal government launch the Retail Pharmacy Partnership with two retail partners – TopCo Associates, LLC and Rite Aid – to expand access to vaccinate healthcare personnel and, eventually, other phases of the state’s vaccine plan. The Federal Pharmacy Partnership has two phases – Phase A for skilled nursing facilities and Phase B for other long-term care facilities.
“We are committed to ensuring that vaccine is getting to Pennsylvanians as quickly as manufacturers get it to us,” said Levine. “Both of these partnerships will help vaccinate our most vulnerable residents and the people who care for them more quickly so that we can move to other groups in our communities. The important thing for Pennsylvanians to remember is that there are limited supplies of vaccine available and our vaccine providers are working as quickly as possible to immunize those in Phase 1A as we look to move forward in other phases.”
In Pennsylvania, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living residents, personal care homes and other long-term care facility types are all part of Phase 1A of the state’s interim vaccination plan.
The Federal Pharmacy Partnership prioritized those in skilled nursing facilities because this community has been impacted the most by COVID-19. By requesting to now include those in personal care and assisted living facilities, Pennsylvania hopes to complete this mission as soon as possible. By the end of last week, 489 skilled nursing facilities had at least one clinic. This mission is being accomplished through CVS and Walgreens.
Launching the Retail Pharmacy Partnership will allow more pharmacies to immunize individuals following the phased timeline laid out by the state when more vaccine becomes available. To begin with, there will be approximately 110 TopCo member-owned retail locations and 60 Rite Aid locations in areas across the state that will be vaccinating healthcare personnel in Phase 1A. Those eligible to be vaccinated should visit the state’s vaccine provider map beginning this week for more information. Eventually, these locations will be able to immunize those in other phases of the state’s vaccine plan.
“We are pleased to partner with community-based pharmacies across the state to ensure all Pennsylvanians have access to the COVID-19 vaccine,” Levine said. “We know that in some communities, vaccine providers have been able to move more quickly through Phase 1A than others. These vaccine providers should ensure that they have indeed vaccinated all non-affiliated healthcare providers before they move into other phases. We all have the same goal of getting Pennsylvania immunized as quickly as possible and no provider has been told to stop vaccinating.
“It is important that all Pennsylvanians remember that we are currently in Phase 1A, and we need to be patient. We are actively planning to move to Phase 1B, but we cannot let our guard down. We must continue to mask up, wash up and social distance.”
Click here for more information.
