Kirkland facility that reported nation's first COVID-19 outbreak getting second vaccine dose
KIRKLAND, Wash. - Life Care Center in Kirkland, the facility that became the epicenter for the first viral outbreak of COVID-19 in the U.S., will get a second dose of the coronavirus vaccine on Monday.
At the end of February of 2020, Life Care Center made national headlines for being the first long-term care facility to experience an outbreak of the then-new virus. Within a month, 39 residents died.
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The facility finally got its first dose of the coronavirus vaccine in late December, 10 months after the initial outbreak.
Life Care Center's staff and residents are being vaccinated through a federal vaccination program with Walgreens and CVS. The program kicked off in Washington state in late December.
The executive director of Life Care Center of Kirkland said, at the time, "it means a little more" to see vaccinations happen there.
COVID-19 has devastated the nation’s long-term care facilities, accounting for nearly 40% of all deaths in the U.S.
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