An unknown number of skilled nursing homes and assisted living facilities that didn’t qualify under the federally run program have been left to fend for themselves.
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West Virginia has led other states, including Nevada, when it comes to distributing the coronavirus vaccine to its residents, in part by partnering with smaller pharmacy chains and community groups.
Data shows fewer doses have gone to residents of Black and Latino neighborhoods with high COVID-19 cases. The disparities have raised alarm among health officials.
“The hope is that we can make Las Vegas, the health (and) safety capital of the world,” said Jim Murren, head of the state’s COVID-19 Response, Relief and Recovery Task Force.
New highly-contagious coronavirus variants have intensified concerns about spread across the U.S. One strain was reported in Nevada this week.
The head of the Southern Nevada Health District said it will be “several weeks” before COVID-19 vaccine becomes available to those in the general public in this age group.
Southern Nevada Health District posted Monday morning that “frontline community support” workers can schedule an appointment.
“Our primary goal is to ensure we don’t let any doses go to waste. We want to maximize every dose that comes into the state — and avoid expired or unused doses,” he said.
Gov. Steve Sisolak and Immunization Program Manager Shannon Bennett provided an update to Nevada’s tier system for vaccine distribution at a Wednesday news briefing.
The first dose of COVID-19 vaccine was given to a Las Vegas ICU nurse on Monday.
With the first COVID-19 vaccine expected to arrive in Nevada on Monday, officials are making final preparations to distribute doses to health care workers.