Dear Birch Bay Residents and Families,

On Wednesday, January 27th, Birch Bay residents of Safe Harbor, Pleasant Cove, and the Apartments will receive their second Moderna vaccine. Birch Bay staff members are scheduled to receive their second vaccine on Wednesday, January 27th and Friday, January 29th.

Residents of the Apartments and Pleasant Cove should be ready between 8-10am on Wednesday morning for a staff member to come to their apartment and bring them to the on-site vaccine clinic in the Bay Vista Room.

Safe Harbor residents will receive their vaccination right in their apartment. All residents will be monitored after receiving their vaccine.

We expect that some residents may have some mild side effects, which are normal signs that their bodies are building protection. The most common side effects are pain at the injection site, fever, and chills. These side effects tend to be mild to moderate and go away on their own within 1–2 days. We will work with residents and families to report any health problems that occur after vaccination.

Due to the nature of vaccinating the residents and staff of the Inn over these two days we have decided to focus solely on providing vaccination and monitoring our residents and staff. As a result, we have cancelled social visits and some activities on Wednesday and Friday. I apologize for this inconvenience but hope you understand my desire to focus all our resources on safety during this vaccination process.

COVID-19 vaccines are an important tool to help stop the pandemic. However, even after vaccination, everyone at Birch Bay will continue following all the current guidance to protect themselves and others, including wearing a mask, staying at least 6 feet away from others, and following our community guidance on visitation, travel and infection control. As guidance from the State of Maine and CDC is updated, Birch Bay will follow suit and adjust our policies as directed.

Thank you again for all you are doing to keep yourself and your family members safe.

Thank you,

Peter Sullivan, MBA, RN-BC, CDP, LRCA, Executive Director, Birch Bay Retirement Village