WESTFIELD – After Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced on Jan. 13 that congregate care facilities would begin receiving doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, Arbors Assisted Living will host their first round of vaccines for residents and staff on Jan. 29.

Debbie Depaolo, the executive director at Arbors Assisted Living, said that their first round of vaccinations will be on Jan. 29.

“We are scheduled to do our first round of vaccines on Jan. 29 and Walgreens is coming in to do it. It’s going to be for residents as well as staff,” she said.

In order to make the vaccination date as smooth as possible, Depaolo said she and her staff were already collecting the necessary information from residents and their families.

“We already sent out the COVID-19 consent form to our residents’ families as well as staff and we are collecting information from everyone. As the information comes in I am entering it and sending it to Walgreens so there are no questions about Medicare or other medical information,” she said.

While Walgreens employees administer the vaccine, Depaolo said Arbors staff would help out as well, including by helping keep residents in place for 15 minutes in case they experience any side effects.

After the initial vaccine date, Depaolo said there are two more planned, each 21 days apart.

“We will be giving out the second round of vaccinations 21 days later and any resident that missed out the first time if they were on the fence or weren’t sure yet will be able to get their first dose while other residents and staff get their second dose. Any resident that gets their first dose on the second date will get their second dose on the third date,” she said

Depaolo added that she was happy that residents and staff will be getting their vaccinations at the end of the month despite not having a single COVID-19 case reported.

“We are super excited to have Walgreens come in and administer the vaccine, to this point we haven’t had any cases and we hope it stays that way,” she said.