The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) announces that the federal Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program will complete its last round of COVID-19 vaccination clinics next week. Since the launch of the program on December 28, 2020, pharmacy partners have provided first, second, and third rounds of on-site clinics at more than 2,900 long-term care facilities across Wisconsin. Vaccinations were provided to over 47,000 staff and 62,000 residents.

“This partnership with CVS and Walgreens, as well as other independent pharmacies, has been a critical part of our efforts to protect Wisconsin’s most vulnerable,” said DHS Secretary-designee Karen Timberlake. “And through these efforts, we have been able to get nearly 110,000 staff and residents in these facilities protected from COVID-19. As the federal program comes to an end, we will continue to ensure new staff and residents can get vaccinated moving forward.”

To ensure facilities have continued access to vaccine after the program ends, the federal government is providing direct allocations to long-term care pharmacies. Many of these pharmacies already have relationships with long-term care facilities to provide vaccinations. A facility can also partner with a vaccinator or enroll to become a vaccinator to receive future vaccinations for their staff and residents.

The Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program is a federal public-private partnership that provided vaccine administration for Wisconsin’s long-term care facilities. Through a contract, CVS and Walgreens pharmacies offered on-site COVID-19 vaccination to participating nursing homes and assisted living facilities. In addition to the federal program, many local long-term care pharmacies, local health departments, and other vaccinators stepped up and provided vaccines to many facilities in Wisconsin that did not enroll in the federal program. A common reason that facilities did not enroll in the federal program was they had an existing relationship with a local vaccinator who provided vaccines to their staff and residents.

For up-to-date information about Wisconsin’s COVID-19 response, visit the DHS COVID-19 webpage. We encourage you to follow @DHSWI on Facebook, Twitter, or dhs.wi on Instagram for more information on COVID-19.