FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA21) – A government plan is designed to help vaccinate some elderly people who cannot go to a COVID clinic for vaccinations to protect them from the coronavirus.
With COVID-19 vaccination clinics across the state continuing to deliver hundreds, if not thousands, of vaccines daily, many Hoosiers have made great efforts to get there and get vaccinated.
“The level of anxiety and then the ability to see their children and grandchildren again. They really followed the rules and it’s been a year since they were able to,” Maureen Wedner said.
As the operations manager for Home and Aging Services, Widener said social workers have called on more than 3,000 Hoosiers in nine counties to help them sign up for a vaccination appointment.
She says that during the process they discovered that many of them were confined to their homes and could not go out to take the photo.
Because this is universal across Indiana, the state is partnering with local health departments to provide unused doses and paramedics to go to people’s homes to vaccinate them.
This will require a great effort of coordination. And of course you can also bring paramedics. So you have to have paramedics available, vaccinations available, and then being able to administer doses in a specific area so that you can use them. potion,” he said.
In fact, no matter how careful vaccination clinics are not to waste doses, sometimes there are very few left at the end of the day.
The state wants to make sure vaccines get to the arms of Hoosiers who need them, and will call them to make sure they are available.
“There were two doses left in the vial, and then the paramedics could take out those two doses and give them to people who live close to each other,” he said.
She says these are some of the most vulnerable Hoosiers who are most likely not to survive if they contract the virus.
And even if they are at home, they are still in contact with other people and could be exposed.
“They are at home, so they probably need caregivers, whether they are family members or professional caregivers to help them. Someone needs to bring groceries to them, we have drivers to deliver the food. From our agency, they go out every day and deliver meals,” he explained Widener.
Widener hopes the Homebound Hoosiers vaccination program will be up and running in the coming weeks.
If you live at home or have a loved one and would like to receive a coronavirus vaccine, call Home and Aging Services at 1-800-552-3662.
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