The state must distribute COVID-19 vaccines to more than 1,000 assisted living facilities if it intends to reach the governor鈥檚 goal of a Sunday deadline.
鈥淏y the end of this month, a COVID-19 vaccine will have been offered to every resident and staff member at all of Florida鈥檚 nearly 4,000 long-term care facilities,鈥� Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday during a press conference in Jacksonville.
The Agency for Health Care Administration on Tuesday said vaccines had been distributed to 99 percent or 687 of Florida鈥檚 695 nursing homes. However, assisted living facilities are lagging.
As of Monday, 2,086 out of the state鈥檚 3,137 assisted living facilities were offered vaccinations.
Reaching the remaining 1,051 facilities in less than a week will be an ambitious undertaking, said Brian Lee, director of the advocacy group Families for Better Care.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to take a major logistics working to offer all of those facilities a vaccine to all of the residents in the next week or so,鈥� Lee said. 鈥淚f the government does accomplish that, it would be a Herculean effort to make that happen.鈥�
In late December, the federal government contracted with pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens to conduct vaccinations at elder care facilities, including in Florida. CVS and Walgreens inoculations on Friday.
Beginning Saturday, vaccinations at long-term care facilities were taken over by a state-run program. DeSantis said he brought in 鈥渁dditional support鈥� by contracting with CDR Health to speed up the vaccination effort in these facilities.
Though the state has provided the number of facilities that have been offered vaccinations, it鈥檚 been less forthcoming about the number of people at those facilities who have been vaccinated.
Lee says the state should provide that data.
鈥淭he information and data has been a bit too shrouded,鈥� Lee said. 鈥淲e have daily reporting on outbreaks in facilities. What we should have is a similar report about those nursing homes and assisted living facilities and other long-term care operations where those vaccines have been deployed and the percentage of people who have been vaccinated.鈥�
More than 9,000 residents of long-term care facilities have died due to complications from COVID-19. That鈥檚 about 35% of the roughly 26,000 people who have died from the disease in Florida.
鈥淭hat has been where we have seen the greatest mortalities,鈥� DeSantis said. 鈥淏y their very nature, their age, and some of their underlying health statuses, it makes them more vulnerable to severe health outcomes from COVID.鈥�
Lee applauded DeSantis鈥� push to vaccinate the state鈥檚 most vulnerable, but says the work is not over.
鈥淚t鈥檚 exceptional leadership by the governor to prioritize the populations in these facilities,鈥� Lee said. 鈥淏ut before we start patting ourselves on the back for a job well done, let鈥檚 make sure that the job is done.鈥�
In December, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that states prioritize vaccine distribution to health care workers, first responders and residents of elder care facilities.
DeSantis went against CDC recommendations and opened vaccinations to anyone 65 and older, which resulted in criticism from those who could not access the vaccine.
鈥淭he initial rollout was a little bumpy,鈥� Lee said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 been a problem with this vaccine deployment -- it鈥檚 something we still have to continue to watch to make sure that the vaccine is being offered.鈥�
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