Governor Ned Lamont celebrated a milestone in the initial phase of vaccinations in Southington on Friday.
This as staff and residents at LiveWell received the COVID-19 vaccine.
“It’s a big day. I don’t know why but you are the last nursing home in the state to get your vaccine but that also means Connecticut is the first state in the country where every nursing home has gotten the vaccine for that first shot,” said Lamont.
LiveWell was the last facility in the state to receive its vaccinations. Lamont said it wasn't clear why LiveWell was the last.
COVID has hit nursing homes in the state especially hard with thousands of residents dying since the beginning of the pandemic.
Through extensive precautions, LiveWell said its facility had been virus-free until December when several cases popped up and were contained.
“Unfortunately this is a pernicious disease that is highly contagious,” said Maley Hunt, LiveWell chief operating officer.
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Now, the state is finalizing who will be next in line for vaccination and it’s expected to include people age 75 and over, those in congregate settings and some essential frontline workers, such as teachers.
“Very exciting. I know there are so many people that need this vaccine. We all need this vaccine,” said Mark Janick, a Suffield High School math teacher.
For Janick, he hopes the vaccine not only helps school get back to normal but life in general.
“A lot of teachers are feeling a little sigh of relief because they can see the end game. And I think everyone sees the endgame with the vaccine coming out,” said Janick.
Vaccinations at nursing homes and for health care workers are expected to wrap up in the next couple of weeks.
A spokesperson for LiveWell said 100% of its residents have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. About 80-85% of the staff have received the shot, the spokesperson said.
Next week, the state is planning to set exactly who will be in the next couple of rounds.
