LOUISVILLE, Ky. — They make up about 66 percent of COVID-19 deaths in Kentucky and for the first time, they're seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. Vaccinations at Kentucky's long-term care facilities started Monday.
100-year-old Pauline Weis who lives at Landmark of Louisville stepped up to the plate to do her part.
"I don't know how I was chosen but I'm thankful I can do it," Weis said. "I don’t have much longer on this earth I don’t think and if I have time to do it I’ll do it."
She was one of the firsts to be vaccinated at a long-term care facility in Louisville. She had to wait 15 minutes after getting the shot to make sure all was well.
"I'm fine," Weis said. "I can go out dancing if somebody can take me."
For the past nine months, Weis has been living alone on the 5th floor at Landmark of Louisville.
"We've been dealing with this for a long time," administrator Mandy Smith said. "I think the psychosocial impact that we're going to see from not letting these people visit their families is something that's going to be a long-term effect so we're very anxious to get COVID past us."
Smith said almost 200 people have tested positive at Landmark of Louisville.
"Whether they were here or came to us so since we take people," Smith said. "And out of that we've had about a one percent death rate."
Across town, echoes of cheers and applause happened at Atria Senior Living Home Monday as pharmacists administered vaccinations.
"It's now time to put COVID in the rearview mirror," chairman and CEO John Moore said. "It's going to take a while, it won't be overnight, but this is the beginning."
Resident Thomas Kiziminski and his son Todd, who works there, both got their shots.
"I feel safer - that it's going to work," Kizminski said. "I have the confidence that it's going to work, we have a lot of great people in this country that put this all together. I just pray that it works for everybody."
Walgreens and CVS are handling the vaccination efforts at long-term care facilities. Governor Andy Beshear says Walgreens pharmacy team hopes to administer vaccinations in roughly 800 long-term care facilities across Kentucky this week.
