The rollout of the CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Program at the Alabama State Veterans Homes is in full swing after each of the four facilities held its first vaccination clinics recently.

Bill Nichols State Veterans Home held its first clinic on April 20, soon after its shipment of Moderna vaccinations arrived. William F. Green State Veterans Home followed on April 22, with 17 Veterans and three staff members receiving their first dose of the vaccine.

On April 28, 10 vaccine doses were given at Col. Robert L. Howard State Veterans Home – four to Veterans and six to staff members. Second doses of the Pfizer vaccine previously given to some Veterans and staff were also administered.

The first CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic at Floyd E. “Tut” Fann State Veterans Home also took place April 28 and included six Veterans and 24 staff members.

“All in all, we are please with the response from the Veterans and staff, and we will continue to positively promote the clinics to vaccinate as many individuals as possible,” said Scott Hurst, Regional VP of Operations with HMR of Alabama, Inc.

The Alabama State Veterans Homes established the program in mid-April after the CDC licensed HMRx, the company that operates the homes’ pharmacies, as a COVID-19 vaccination provider once all program requirements were met. Each home has an upgraded pharmacy vaccination freezer to store COVID-19 vaccines, a state-of-the-art Digital Data Logger (DDL) to monitor the freezer’s temperature 24 hours a day, and is enrolled in the federal vaccine allocation program.

Vaccinations are ordered through enrollment with Managed Health Care Associations, Inc. (MHA) and the state allocation program with the Alabama Department of Public Health. Each state veterans home has trained clinical staff that will administer the vaccine to residents and employees.

The CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Program lessens the possibility of residents becoming exposed to the virus by receiving the vaccine, and allows flexibility in scheduling appointments.