Nearly all Florida nursing homes have received COVID-19 vaccines, data shows

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Nearly all of the nursing homes in the state have received the COVID-19 vaccine, according to recent data.

The Agency for Health Care Administration’s latest data shows close to 99% of nursing homes have reported they’ve received the vaccine and so have 67% of assisted living facilities.

A private firm Florida hired was paid millions of dollars to speed up vaccinations at long-term care facilities.

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State leaders said they felt the federal programs with CVS and Walgreens at these facilities were falling short, so that’s why they hired the company, CDR Maguire.

The company stepped in at centers that were not scheduled for their initial clinic with CVS or Walgreen’s on or before Jan. 23. The state paid the Miami company $6 million to get into those facilities.

Veronica Catoe, the CEO of the association, said CDR Maguire is moving so fast officials are actually calling some of her facilities just hours before actually arriving.

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“The short notice of CDR, and the time that they had to get these first clinics done, it has been a little difficult for some of the communities to get the paperwork completed in a timely fashion,” Catoe said.

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Cox Media Group