December 11th Update
Important Vaccine News This Week
Earlier this week, the FDA’s Vaccine Advisory Committee overwhelmingly recommended the approval of the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use, with first priority going to older Americans and healthcare workers. This is fantastic news and paves the way for formal FDA approval, which is expected shortly. After such a long and challenging year, we’re excited to have a vaccine that is shown to be 95% effective with no serious safety concerns.
There have been a number of news articles written highlighting FDA published data and research along with various expert views, such as this CBS story which provides a brief primer on the research. There is broad agreement the vaccine is safe and will quickly provide critical protection to those who receive it.
We will be announcing our vaccination schedules for both residents and staff soon. If your loved one is living in an Aegis Living community and you have any questions or concerns about the vaccine or vaccination schedule, please reach out to your community’s General Manager.
Where We Stand Today
We continue to strictly enforce our infection control and safety practices and protocols. We are asking our team members, as well as residents and their families, to diligently follow CDC and our added Aegis Living protocols, such as face shields, masks and gloves. This week, we are managing 28 cases amid our 2,200 residents across the west coast, and 44 among our 2,500 staff members. For details about a specific community, please reach out to that community’s General Manager or email questions@aegisliving.com.
We will continue to communicate regularly with our residents, their families and the staff in impacted communities, and report the results of universal testing. For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page.
Spreading Holiday Cheer!
This week, we kicked off our 12 Days of Holiday Cheer program, which will go through Monday, December 21st. Each community has its own unique event calendar, which includes safe and socially distanced celebrations every day for twelve days. So far, there have been several joyous activities, such as a tree decorating day at our Granada Hills community, a menorah lighting celebration to mark the beginning of Hanukkah at our Marymoor community, wreath making and lots of holiday card creations. Be sure to check out photos of the celebrations and activities on our social media channels!