The FDA has recently approved a second booster of either the Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines for individuals who are 50 years of age or older. Since older individuals generally are at a higher risk of infection, and may experience more severe symptoms if they catch COVID-19, the vaccine boost is intended to ensure those at a higher risk are still protected.
Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our residents and staff. At Pacifica Senior Living, we are going above and beyond in the face of COVID-19 to minimize the risk of infection throughout our communities, implementing new precautions to reduce the spread of illness.
A MEANINGFUL COVID PROTOCOL
During this time of uncertainty of Covid-19 – with the multiple variants and changing state responses – the Pacifica Senior Living heightened protocols are presently in place. Our top priority remains the health and safety of our residents and staff.
Vaccinations have been a hot topic since the COVID-19 vaccine became available in December 2020. Now, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are suggesting most Americans will benefit from a standard dose of the Moderna or Pfizer-manufacturer version of the vaccine, as opposed to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine became an attractive alternative to the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines when the public learned it required only one dose, instead of two like the other manufacturers. However, studies show that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is linked to rare -- but serious -- blood clot disorders, which are not a known side effect of Modern or Pfizer vaccines.
Additionally, the CDC claims Americans should consider the efficacy of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines when choosing their dose. Moderna and Pfizer show marked improvements over the Johnson & Johnson vaccine when it comes to protecting vaccinated individuals from serious illness or death.
Prior to this announcement, the CDC treated all vaccines with an ‘equal choice’ approach, however, their current claims strongly encourage Americans to choose Moderna and Pfizer over Johnson & Johnson when receiving their first vaccine or a booster shot.
According to CDC Advisor Dr. Beth Bell, she “would not recommend the Janssen vaccine to my family members, but some patients may -- and should be able to -- choose that shot.” The Johnson & Johnson vaccine will remain available for individuals who are allergic to Moderna or Pfizer, but the CDC does not recommend it as the first choice for individuals who can receive the safer, more effective Moderna or Pfizer doses.
We invite our residents to ask their caregivers or doctors if they have any questions about the COVID-19 vaccine, or scheduling a booster appointment. We are happy to help our residents get vaccinated and arrange future doses, promoting good health throughout our community. To learn more about our precautionary approach to COVID-19 at Pacifica Senior Living Communities, please chat with us below.
After months of diligent efforts to protect our family of residents and essential workers, we are thrilled to announce that our vaccination effort in communities across the country has both started well and continues to go well as we work toward 100% vaccination for our residents and staff at Pacifica Senior Living.
Since December, when we were one of the first senior living companies to procure the vaccine under the Phase I vaccination process, we have been able to provide the vaccines to the majority of our residents and team members, and are quickly approaching every community.Pacifica Senior Living is excited that all of our senior living communities have COVID-19 vaccination dates in place. Our vaccination clinics for both residents and staff are well underway with 99% of all communities already receiving their first dose, and several communities have already had their second vaccine dose administered. Not only does the vaccine protect each person that receives it, but it protects the community as well. As we look forward to the end of this long and difficult time, we are thankful to so many who have demonstrated both determination and perseverance in ensuring all our residents and employees have the opportunity to receive the vaccine.
While we continue to see our residents and staff receive the vaccine, we remain ever-mindful of our goal to continue to promote the well-being of our communities by up-to-date health and safety protocols. Our mission is to provide compassionate, personalized care services with dignity and respect, and it is our chief focus while participating in these clinics over the next weeks and months. We look forward to sharing more updates with you as we walk through this new and exciting time!
If you’d like to know more about Pacifica Senior Living, we invite you to visit any of our communities across the nation, and we look forward to an opportunity to welcome you to the Pacifica Family.
The COVID-19 vaccines are here. The first shipment of the Pfizer-produced vaccine arrived at the end of November and was approved by the FDA last Friday, so people can finally begin the process of fully protecting themselves from the virus. The Moderna vaccine should also be approved later this week, which means more doses can be distributed and many more people can be vaccinated. Both vaccines are notably effective in preventing illness due to the coronavirus, and both have been tested in adults age 65 and older, who had an overwhelmingly positive immune response to them. This is truly fantastic news for a world weary of a virus that has impacted our lives more than we could have ever imagined.
As the vaccines begins making their way out into the world, we are thrilled to announce that residents in Pacifica Senior Living communities will not have to wait long for them as we are a part of the federal governments Operation Warp Speed Phase I distribution. Basically, the entire populace has been divided in to groups who will get these vaccines at different times based on exposure, risk, and chronic illnesses. Healthcare workers and seniors in assisted living and skilled nursing communities fall into that first tier, which means we’ll have the opportunity to get the vaccines very soon.
So far, early results show that Pfizer's vaccine has an overall effectiveness of 95% and of 94% in people 65 and older, while Moderna's overall effectiveness is 94%, with 87% in preventing moderate disease in older adults. This tells us how well things will go once the vaccines are being given to people on a wide scale. Additionally, the noted side effects of the vaccines are minimal, which, when taken with the extremely high effectiveness of the vaccines tthemselves really does paint a rosy picture for how things are going to turn the corner and improve as we head into 2021, and then into the Spring and beyond.
These companies have said about 40 million doses of their vaccines should be available this year, enough to fully vaccinate about 20 million people, as each vaccine requires two doses. After that, 50 million doses will be available in January, followed by 60 million doses in both February and March. This is enough vaccine for another 80-85 million people and is more than enough to vaccinate America’s seniors and work our way to containing and eventually defeating COVID-19.
At Pacifica, we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccines, and it appears we are now just weeks away—and maybe less—from being able to provide our residents and their families with the safety and security they are looking for as we all work toward getting our lives back to normal. We are proud of our placement as part of the Phase I vaccine distribution, as we are of the efforts we have already taken in helping to keep our communities safe and our residents happy during this past year. We want to thank everyone who is a part of the Pacifica Family—residents, team members, and family members alike—for all they’ve done in working toward our common goal.
Please keep an eye out for further updates regarding the COVID-19 vaccines, and know that as members of the Pacifica Family, we are all in this together.
Friday, November 27 was more than a sleepy day spent relaxing and coping with the overeating many of us did the night before in celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday—it was an auspicious day in the timeline of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Touching down that morning at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport was a United Airlines flight that had left Brussels a few hours before carrying with it the first mass shipment of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. This first mass shipment is an important first step in setting up the mass network of storage and distribution that will need to be in place to ensure that everyone can get this vaccine safely and in a timely manner. And, in October, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) created a special commission to ensure a safe and quick nationwide distribution of COVID vaccines as they become available.
In November, Pfizer released the first large-scale batch of results from their tests that show that their vaccine is more than 90% effective at stopping new infections altogether, and this was rightly hailed as great news. A two-stage vaccine—meaning you need a first shot, then a booster a few weeks later—Pfizer will have as many as 50 million doses available for the American public by the end of 2020, with more on the way in the first months of 2021. Though the vaccine still needs to receive U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, Pfizer has already filed an emergency submission for it, and can be granted approval as soon as December 10, with distribution beginning shortly after that date.
To help aid in this process, other major airlines are also testing and preparing to ship the vaccine first from overseas to the United States, and then across the country with coordination help from the FAA itself. Two weeks ago, American Airlines began running trial flights to test the special packaging the vaccine requires, as it must be kept well below freezing during shipping and storage, and these tests have been running quite smoothly since they began.
With the transportation quickly working itself out, and the bureaucratic process moving quickly as well, all that is left is to determine who will be among the first to receive the vaccine. But, this too has been thought of and planned out as a part of the government’s Operation Warp Speed. The good news is that senior citizens and senior living communities like those in the Pacifica Senior Living family are prioritized as a part of Phase 1 distribution. At Pacifica, we are proudly a part of Phase 1, and our residents will be among the first in the nation to receive this life-saving vaccine, which, according to the federal government, could start finding its way out into the public in as little as six weeks from now.
As more information becomes available about both Pfizer’s vaccine and Moderna’s vaccine (which has recently filed for FDA approval as well), we will continue to keep residents in our communities, their families, and our team members updated with everything they need to know when it comes to the delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine.
We also want to thank everyone who is a part of the Pacifica Senior Living family for making it through these trying times with the same passion and care we pride ourselves on as a community. We are looking forward to getting things back to normal in 2021, and we cannot wait to spend the future enjoying our years the way they are meant to be enjoyed.