COVID-19 vaccinations set to begin at nursing homes in Maryland

BOONSBORO, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - Nursing home vaccinations will begin Wednesday in Maryland and families with loved ones at one facility were furious after they were told there would be no vaccinations there until February.

A viewer with a family member at Fahrney-Keedy Home & Village in Washington County contacted FOX 5 Tuesday, furious that vaccinations would take so long, especially because there’s currently a COVID-19 outbreak at the facility.

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The facility provided FOX 5 the email it received from CVS who is running the vaccine clinic. CVS and Walgreens are doing nursing home vaccinations nationwide.

Julia McGlaughlin, executive director of Clinical Services at Fahrney-Keedy, said she emailed CVS and families have been reaching out to the health department and politicians for answers with no luck.

Late Tuesday, CVS confirmed there was an "isolated" email glitch and the facility will get its first round of vaccinations in mid-January.
It’s the second round of shots that are scheduled for February.

CVS spokesman Joe Goode said they’re calling Fahrney-Keedy to apologize.

"I’m so thankful to whoever called you all and to FOX 5 for figuring this out for us," said McGlaughlin.

Goode said CVS expects to have the first round of vaccines finished at Maryland nursing homes by Jan. 15.

While he couldn’t give an exact date for when Maryland nursing homes will be finished getting vaccinations, he said nationwide, CVS expects to be done by mid-March.

A spokesman for Gov. Larry Hogan said there is no date yet for when the state will move to the next tier of people to be vaccinated, but it could be before March.

After health care workers and nursing homes, first responders will be vaccinated, then people at high risk to be severely sickened by COVID, people in essential infrastructure roles, people at moderately higher risk for the virus and then the general population.