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'This is a ray of hope': COVID-19 vaccinations begin at Boise long-term care facility

Pharmacists administered 175 doses of the vaccine to residents and staff at Good Samaritan Society-Boise Village on Tuesday.

BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Dept. of Health and Welfare is now distributing the COVID-19 vaccine to residents and employees at long-term care facilities.

Long-term care facilities did not anticipate receiving the vaccine so early. Good Samaritan Society-Boise Village, for example, did not expect the vaccine until sometime in January.

Right after Christmas, supervisor Sherri Ellis was told her facility would be the first long-term care facility in Boise to receive the vaccine.

The first shipment arrived on Monday and on Tuesday, pharmacists began the process of vaccinating residents and staff members. 

It's the beginning of the end of a very long and emotionally taxing journey for assisted living residents and staff, according to Ellis.

Many of the residents at Good Samaritan have not been with their families in over 10 months.

“It’s hard being away from their loved ones, it’s hard to be away from the people that you care about, and that has been challenging," Ellis said. "I’ve spent many afternoons in my office crying.”

In a partnership with the state of Idaho, Walgreens pharmacists administered about 175 doses of the vaccines on Tuesday.

“It’s just a light at the end of the tunnel for a lot of us," Ellis said. "Not only for staff but also for residents and for family members.”

The vaccine will be a much-needed addition to the facility's arsenal for combating COVID-19.

“It’s the first step," Ellis said. "We don’t have anything other than masks, social distancing, washing our hands and PPE to protect our residents, so this is a ray of hope.”

One of the first residents to get vaccinated was 77-year-old Jenny Johnson.

"I'm really happy that we are getting it and our administration seems to think it's important," Johnson said. "Thank goodness, because this country needs the help."

Residents are also hopeful the vaccine will bring them one day closer to reuniting with their families.

"Our residents have been endured so much, and it was for their safety and they’ve been such troopers," Ellis said. “One resident said ‘if there is a shortage in vaccinations, I won’t take mine. I’ll give it to somebody younger who could use it, that has a longer life than I do.' Those are the things that keep me going.”

Tuesday's vaccination clinic is just the first of three that will occur at Good Samaritan between now and early February.

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