For Allen, Texas Seniors, The COVID-19 Vaccine is Now a Reality.
Keeping your loved ones safe has been our most important priority during this long pandemic. From the onset, we put into place the necessary safety protocols, providing protection and peace of mind for you and your loved ones. Soon, we will have the long-anticipated COVID-19 vaccine that will help end this virus. At The Heritage at Twin Creeks in Allen, Texas, we are mindful of every aspect of our resident’s life as we continue to keep them safe and healthy in our active senior living communities.
Vaccine Priority for Texas Assisted Living:
The CDC is partnering with Allen, Texas pharmacies to offer on-site COVID-19 vaccination services for senior residents in all long-term care settings, including Texas assisted living facilities, where most individuals are over 65 years of age. Once a vaccine is available, the residents and staff at licensed communities, like ours, will have priority through CVS Pharmacy. CVS will bill your insurer, Medicare, or Medicaid for the cost of administering the vaccine.
This means that if you are a The Heritage at Twin Creeks resident, or have taken financial possession of a room at one of our communities prior to the initial vaccine clinics, then you will be included in the first tranche of Texas recipients for the vaccine. As we all know, seniors are affected the most by COVID-19, so this is a crucial opportunity to stay safe and healthy.
Timeline:
Texas has started to distribute vaccines, and will prioritize health care workers and assisted living communities. Other states are only a few weeks away from distribution and will also prioritize essential workers and seniors who are affected the most by COVID-19.
Prevention:
Outbreaks of preventable infectious diseases occur when many people choose not to get vaccinated. Those who are not vaccinated are a threat and can spread disease to other people who have medical issues and cannot be vaccinated. Per the CDC, it is more important than ever to receive the flu vaccine this year and we strongly encourage all of our residents and employees to be vaccinated against the flu and COVID-19.
For any other questions about the vaccine, whether about yourself or a loved one, in Allen, Texas, consider giving us a call here at The Heritage at Twin Creeks Surpass Senior Living.
Stay Safe in Allen, Texas with Surpass and The Heritage at Twin Creeks Senior Living
With the recent approval by the FDA of two COVID-19 vaccines, assisted living communities will be amongst the safest places to live for seniors in Allen, Texas. Assisted living communities will have priority access to the vaccine for its residents and team members. The benefits and care of moving to an assisted living may largely outweigh the alternative of staying home.
Vaccine clinics have been scheduled with CVS Pharmacy to administer the vaccine to Texas residents and team members. Vaccination is the biggest step towards protecting our residents and team members to create a safer community.
Additionally, in our communities, residents have limited contact with outside visitors. The majority of visitors to our communities are health care professionals which prevent residents from having to travel in public. Policies are in place to maintain safe visitation from essential visitors as we understand that seeing family is especially important during these times. Visitors to our building are required to submit temperature checks, questionnaires, and must adhere to our PPE requirements.
Finally, since the beginning of the pandemic, we have been committed to increased disinfection of common areas. We continue to have staff dedicated to keeping our senior living community clean. From having priority access to the vaccine to socially distanced companionship to increased cleaning measures, we work hard to mitigate risks to help keep our Allen residents safe in our communities.
If you are looking for compassionate senior living or memory care for a loved one, within these CDC guidelines, here in Allen, Texas, consider giving us a call at The Heritage at Twin Creeks from Surpass Senior Living. You can contact one of our sales directors here.
Facts about the Covid-19 Vaccine for Allen, Texas Seniors
We know there is a lot of information and confusion surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine, so we wanted to help put together a Vaccine FAQ for all The Heritage at Twin Creeks senior care residents, and Allen Texas seniors.
Vaccine Priority for Texas Assisted Living:
The CDC is partnering with Texas pharmacies to offer on-site COVID-19 vaccination services for residents in all long-term care settings, including assisted living facilities where most individuals are over 65 years of age. Once a vaccine is available, the residents and staff at licensed communities, like ours in Allen, Texas, will have priority through CVS Pharmacy. CVS will bill your insurer, Medicare, or Medicaid for the cost of administering the vaccine.
This means that if you are a resident or have taken financial possession of a room at one of our Texas senior care communities prior to the initial vaccine clinics, then you will be included in the first tranche of recipients for the vaccine. As we all know, seniors are affected the most by COVID-19, so this is a crucial opportunity to stay safe and healthy.
Benefits of the Vaccine:
The COVID-19 vaccine has been tested through clinical trials over 20,000 times to make sure it is safe and approved for distribution. The test subjects include a diverse range of races, ethnicity, and age – including adults 65 and older. Ultimately, there were no serious safety concerns that outweigh the life-saving capability. The ACIP and CDC have agreed that the benefits of saving lives with the COVID-19 vaccination outweigh the risk of possible side effects.
Possible Side Effects:
- injection site pain
- tiredness
- headache
- muscle pain
- chills
- joint pain
- fever
- injection site swelling
- injection site redness
- nausea
- feeling unwell
- swollen lymph nodes
How It Works:
Each recipient of the vaccine will receive two shots of the vaccine into the muscle, spaced out over 3 weeks. If you receive one dose, it is recommended to receive the second dose as well. The duration of the vaccine is currently unknown.
What should you mention to your vaccination provider before you get the Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine?
Tell the vaccination provider about all of your medical conditions, including if you:
- have any allergies
- have a fever
- have a bleeding disorder or are on a blood thinner
- are immunocompromised or are on a medicine that affects your immune system
- are pregnant or plan to become pregnant
- are breastfeeding
- have received another COVID-19 vaccine
Distributing The Vaccine Safely is Top Priority:
The FDA has implemented an emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination and plans to monitor the distribution closely along with the CDC. Using robust systems and specific data systems, the FDA and CDC will be able to quickly and safely track the COVID-19 vaccine. Learn more about COVID-19 vaccine safety monitoring. Additionally, the CDC is working with Texas pharmacies and others who will be distributing the vaccine to help Allen long-term care facilities educate residents and their families.
Further FAQs from the CDC:
FACT: COVID-19 vaccines will not give you COVID-19
None of the COVID-19 vaccines currently in development in the United States use the live virus that causes COVID-19. There are several different types of vaccines in development. However, the goal for each of them is to teach our immune systems how to recognize and fight the virus that causes COVID-19. Sometimes this process can cause symptoms, such as fever. These symptoms are normal and are a sign that the body is building immunity.
It typically takes a few weeks for the body to build immunity after vaccination. That means it’s possible a person could be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 just before or just after vaccination and get sick. This is because the vaccine has not had enough time to provide protection.
FACT: COVID-19 vaccines will not cause you to test positive on COVID-19 viral tests
Vaccines currently in clinical trials in the United States won’t cause you to test positive on viral tests, which are used to see if you have a current infection.
If your body develops an immune response, which is the goal of vaccination, there is a possibility you may test positive on some antibody tests. Antibody tests indicate you had a previous infection and that you may have some level of protection against the virus. Experts are currently looking at how COVID-19 vaccination may affect antibody testing results.
FACT: People who have gotten sick with COVID-19 may still benefit from getting vaccinated
Due to the severe health risks associated with COVID-19 and the fact that re-infection with COVID-19 is possible, people may be advised to get a COVID-19 vaccine even if they have been sick with COVID-19 before.
At this time, experts do not know how long someone is protected from getting sick again after recovering from COVID-19. The immunity someone gains from having an infection, called natural immunity, varies from person to person. Some early evidence suggests natural immunity may not last very long.
We won’t know how long immunity produced by vaccination lasts until we have a vaccine and more data on how well it works.
Both natural immunity and vaccine-induced immunity are important aspects of COVID-19 that experts are trying to learn more about, and CDC will keep the public informed as new evidence becomes available.
FACT: Getting vaccinated can help prevent getting sick with COVID-19
While many people with COVID-19 have only a mild illness, others may get a severe illness or they may even die. There is no way to know how COVID-19 will affect you, even if you are not at increased risk of severe complications. If you get sick, you also may spread the disease to friends, family, and others around you while you are sick. COVID-19 vaccination helps protect you by creating an antibody response without having to experience sickness. Learn more about how COVID-19 vaccines work.
FACT: Receiving an mRNA vaccine will not alter your DNA
mRNA stands for messenger ribonucleic acid and can most easily be described as instructions for how to make a protein or even just a piece of a protein. mRNA is not able to alter or modify a person’s genetic makeup (DNA). The mRNA from a COVID-19 vaccine never enters the nucleus of the cell, which is where our DNA are kept. This means the mRNA does not affect or interact with our DNA in any way. Instead, COVID-19 vaccines that use mRNA work with the body’s natural defenses to safely develop protection (immunity) to disease. Learn more about how COVID-19 mRNA vaccines work.
Sources:
It’s extremely important to practice healthy aging throughout your life even well into your golden years. At our Allen, Texas Surpass Senior Living communities, it’s a priority for us to make sure your loved ones are staying healthy, especially in this pandemic. If you have any further questions, please reach out to our Surpass team. You can contact one of our sales directors here.