Somerset County Begins COVID Vaccinations Of Homebound Residents

SOMERSET COUNTY, NJ — Somerset County began vaccinating homebound residents in Somerville, Raritan and Manville on Monday.

The Somerset County Department of Health (SCDoH) sent vaccination teams to the homes of residents who for medical or other reasons are unable to leave their homes to get the vaccine. The initiative kicked off for homebound residents in Somerville, Raritan and Manville this week and will then move to additional municipalities.

"We are thrilled to finally be receiving increased allocations of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine so we can continue our efforts to ensure Somerset County’s most vulnerable residents are protected against COVID," said Commissioner Deputy Director Sara Sooy, who accompanied one of the teams to visit Maria Page of Manville. "We’ve been preparing for this day for two months and are looking forward to continued expansion of our vaccination program as allotments increase in the coming weeks."

The county compiled a list of about 550 homebound residents and is planning to visit 150 homes each week until the list is completed.

The county is also partnering with the Community Visiting Nurses Association in Somerville and the Montgomery Department of Health to reach additional residents on the homebound vaccination waiting list.

Vaccinating homebound residents takes more time due to travel times for nurses and waiting at the home for 15 to 30 minutes after vaccination to respond in the unlikely event of a reaction to the vaccine.

"Because of the resources and the time necessary to vaccinate people in their homes as compared to a clinic, we continue to ask residents, if possible, to come to one of our clinics or another partner provider to get vaccinated," said Sooy. "However, we recognize that many of our older and infirm residents simply cannot travel and we are committed to protecting them as well."

This is part of the county's effort to help seniors get access to the COVID-19 vaccine.

To place a resident on the Homebound or Senior Citizen waiting lists, call the County COVID Hotline at 908-231-7155 or use the webform at co.somerset.nj.us/covidQs.

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