Nursing Home Residents, Staff Roll Up Sleeves In Port Washington

PORT WASHINGTON — Eighty-seven-year-old Janet Lombard was one of the first residents of the Amsterdam at Harborside assisted living facility in Port Washington to roll up her sleeve and take her first dose of Pfizer's vaccine guarding against the deadly Coronavirus.

The octogenarian was one of the facility’s 56 Tuttle Center residents who were targeted among the first wave of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommended vaccinations that were rolled out this week. The residents and one-third of employees were administered the vaccine by staffers from CVS, which has partnered up with the CDC to offer on-site vaccinations for residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

“I feel fortunate that we are able to take advantage of the vaccine and I think they will take people away from their feelings of isolation and get back to some sort of normalcy,” Lombard stated in a press release.

Nursing facility executive director Brooke Navarre was among one-third of employees to receive the vaccine as well. “Obviously, some of us were a bit nervous about being vaccinated, but everyone here wants get back to life before COVID-19. This was an important step in the right direction,” she said.

Residents and staff members are scheduled to receive their second shot three weeks from now. An additional third of the Amsterdam’s staff has also been scheduled for their initial vaccination. Navarre is currently waiting for notification from the New York State Department of Health as to when the vaccine will be available for the rest of the Amsterdam, where there are more than 300 seniors living independently.

The CDC has recommended that the residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities, as well as high-risk staff, receive vaccinations against COVID-19 to protect against the spread of the virus.