This email is being sent to Division of Quality Assurance partners, and for your awareness, local and tribal health directors
Owners with Multiple Facilities
If a facility is enrolled in the Pharmacy Partnership for Long Term Care Program, the pharmacy partner that the facility is matched with will be reaching out directly to the facility to coordinate.
Facilities that are affiliated or under the same owner or company may not necessarily all be assigned to the same pharmacy partner. Ideally, facilities would have enrolled themselves during the enrollment period and selected their preferred partner. However, facilities that were auto-enrolled were randomly assigned a pharmacy partner. If a facility receives contact from Walgreens or CVS, that facility should not assume that this contact is for all the locations that they may be affiliated with. Please confirm with the pharmacy partner which facilities they plan to vaccinate. If one of your facilities is not on their list, it may mean that the facility is matched with the other pharmacy partner or the facility may not have been enrolled in the program. You can contact DHSCOVIDVACCINATOR@wi.gov to confirm enrollment status for any facility. Please include the name and address of the facility in your email.
Changing Between Walgreens and CVS
Transferring facilities between the pharmacy partners will only be possible in limited scenarios. This is a federal program involving multiple organizations and large amounts of data. Making changes to enrollment data at this point is difficult. Facilities should plan to work with the pharmacy partner that they are matched with.
Previous Walgreens and CVS Immunization Clinics
Many facilities may have existing relationships with the Walgreens or CVS locations in their communities, particularly if they have partnered with these pharmacies to receive influenza vaccinations. CVS and Walgreens have assembled dedicated teams for the Pharmacy Partnership for Long Term Care Program for COVID-19 vaccination. These teams are likely not the same staff that your facility may be used to working with and also may not be affiliated with your local CVS or Walgreens location. The pharmacy teams for this program will reach out directly to the facility to coordinate and will provide your facility with a point of contact on their team. If your facility is enrolled in the program, you can also contact the pharmacies at the addresses listed below:
CVS: CovidVaccineClinicsLTCF@CVSHealth.com
Walgreens: immunizeLTC@walgreens.com
Existing partnerships are valuable and they may play an important role in your facility’s plans for vaccination following the Pharmacy Partnership Program.
Vaccine Refusal
It is crucial for the pharmacies’ clinic planning that the staff and resident numbers you confirm with them are as close as possible to the number of individuals who will receive vaccine on the clinic day. Staff and residents have the right to refuse vaccine. However, if they do so, their doses cannot be used to vaccinate spouses or family of those individuals.
In particular, cases where there may be excess doses at the end of a clinic that cannot be taken back to the pharmacy for future clinics and would otherwise be wasted, the pharmacies can vaccinate other individuals at the facility. The pharmacies and facility will attempt to prioritize these individuals based on State Disaster Medical Advisory Committee (SDMAC) prioritization guidelines. This is the only scenario in which individuals other than staff and residents may receive vaccine at the onsite program clinics.
You play a critical role in providing trusted information and ensuring high COVID-19 vaccination coverage in your facility. Please review the CDC’s Long Term Care Facility Toolkit, which contains information and resources to help build vaccine confidence among staff and residents at your facility.
Preparing for your second and third clinics
The pharmacy partners will visit facilities for a total of three clinics, with the exception of some smaller facilities where only two clinics may be necessary to vaccinate all residents and staff.
What happens if a resident or staff member receives their first dose at the third (final) program clinic?
At the third clinic, any facility staff eligible to receive Moderna vaccine that have not yet received their first dose should be vaccinated. If a first dose is administered to a resident on the third clinic, it may be more difficult for them to receive their second dose. In these cases, the facility and pharmacy should work together to determine the best course of action.
Do residents and staff need to complete a second consent form prior to receiving their second dose?
Yes. Both CVS and Walgreens are requiring residents and staff to complete separate consent forms for both doses. Please plan accordingly. Forms should be completed for all staff and residents prior to the clinic day, with the exception of any screening questions that ask individuals about how they are feeling on the day that they receive vaccine.
Planning for Vaccinations after the Pharmacy Partnership Program Ends
After the initial phase of vaccinations, facilities will have needs for ongoing COVID-19 vaccinations. Facilities can choose to enroll as a COVID-19 vaccinator themselves or facilities can work with a vaccinator of their choice that has enrolled with the state.
Each person getting the COVID-19 vaccine will receive a vaccination record card to make sure they receive the correct vaccine for the second dose. This information will also be recorded in the Wisconsin Immunization Registry (WIR). It is important that the same vaccine is administered for the second dose. In Wisconsin, the Moderna product is being used in long term care facilities that are enrolled in this program.
Depending on vaccine supply, facilities may work with a local pharmacy to come and vaccinate, refer residents to their primary care provider, refer residents to the local health system, or arrange for appointments at a local pharmacy. Facilities will need to assess their capabilities and resources, including ability to store vaccine, complete all reporting requirements in WIR, and avoid vaccine wastage.
Facilities may want to work with local hospitals to ensure residents have received their first dose before being discharged.
Please contact DHSCOVIDVaccinator@wi.gov with any questions.
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