Dear Families and Guardians,
We are writing to encourage you to ensure your family member or dependent living Resident in our facility is vaccinated against COVID-19. Despite all efforts to prevent COVID-19 in long-term care facilities, people who live in group settings may be at higher risk of coming into contact with a person infected with COVID-19 than if they lived alone or with few people. Many long-term care residents also have serious underlying health conditions which put them at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
I am very happy to report that we currently have 96% of staff and 93% of our resident who have chosen to receive the vaccine none of whom experienced any serious side effects.
There are three vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson/ Janssen) authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration. All three were shown to be safe and very effective at protecting people from severe COVID-19 illness, hospitalization and death. The COVID-19 vaccines may also prevent the spread of disease to others. People who have already had COVID-19 should be vaccinated to prevent getting COVID-19 again.
It is not possible to get COVID-19 from any of the vaccines. Most people have some side effects from the vaccines, including soreness in the arm where they got the shot, headache, body aches, tiredness and fever. Side effects can be unpleasant, but they usually are no a health concern and go away withing 24 to 48 hours.
The resources below can guide discussions about the vaccine. If you have any questions about the COVID-19 vaccine or if you are the health care proxy and would like your family member to get vaccinated to prevent COVID-19, please contact us at Elmhurst Care Center (718-205-8100) and we will arrange for our pharmacy/ partner to provide the vaccine on-site. The vaccines are provided at no cost. If the resident has insurance, it may be billed, but they will not be charged a copay or any other fee.
Sincerely,
Pascale St. Pierre, LCSW
Director of Social Services
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Additional Information:
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NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene:
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Vaccine web page: gov/covidvaccine
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COVID-19 Vaccine Facts web page
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COVID-19 Facts video (available in multiple languages)
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COVID-19 Vaccine Facts with Health Commissioner Dr. Dave A. Chokshi
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COVID-19 Vaccine Facts with First Deputy Commissioner Dr. Torian Easterling
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Importance of COVID-19 Vaccination for Residents of Long-Term Care Facilities
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