Valley nursing homes awaiting vaccines as pharmacies roll out distribution

They're some of the hardest hit by the pandemic, and now, some of the first to receive coronavirus vaccines.

Valley nursing homes and long-term care facilities are gearing up to vaccinate residents and staff. Statewide, pharmacies began the distribution process Monday.

Floyd Rhoades, owner of Vista Cove at Rancho Mirage, a memory care facility for the elderly, said he doesn't know exactly when the vaccines will arrive, but he's been told it could be just a matter of days.

"We're ready to go," Rhaodes said. "It's a relief because everybody is every day very trepidatious about, 'Am I going to get (coronavirus) or is my family member going to get it today?'"

The vaccines will be administered onsite at care facilities by Walgreens and CVS pharmacies.

Rhoades said 100 percent of the Vista Cove residents and staff have agreed to take the vaccine. "It just takes one person having (coronavirus) to become the spreader of it, and so knowing that everybody who is working in the building has had the vaccine is a relief."

"We've been through a lot," said Maria Segura, a Vista Cove caregiver. The facility was the site of an outbreak in May. 17 caregivers and 28 residents tested positive.

Segura hopes to get her dose of the vaccine as soon as possible. "I know I'm going to be well protected, and also knowing for my family as well," she said.

The state is expected to announce, possibly tomorrow, who is next in line for the vaccine. California's vaccine advisory committee currently priotizes people 75 years and older, education and childcare workers, and those who work in emergency services, food and agriculture.