Atlantic County Provides COVID-19 Vaccines To Homebound Residents

ATLANTIC COUNTY, NJ — The Atlantic County Division of Public Health announced that they will distribute COVID-19 vaccines to homebound residents.

Atlantic County recently received 500 doses of the new Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, which public health nurses will administer over the next few weeks to recipients of the county’s home delivered meal program.

“We felt it was important to allocate this vaccine for those who are eligible but homebound and unable to get to a vaccination site,” said County Executive Dennis Levinson. “Because this is a one dose vaccine and only requires refrigeration, it is ideal for this purpose. Our nurses are working with our case managers and Meals on Wheels staff to provide this service.”

Officials sent letters to each of the home delivered meal customers informing them that the Johnson & Johnson vaccines were available and followed up by a phone call to see if they had a need and interest in being vaccinated.

“We’re pleased to be able to accommodate this segment of our population that was not being adequately addressed by the existing vaccination options,” Levinson said. “If not for this resource, many of these vulnerable residents might likely remain unvaccinated.”

Levinson has acknowledged the difficulty many eligible individuals, especially the elderly and those without computer access, are having in finding appointments.

He encourages residents 75 and older who are not home delivered meal recipients to call the state hotline at 856-249-7007 for assistance.

“If the county receives more vaccine beyond these initial Johnson and Johnson doses, we may be able to further expand our distribution, but for now it is exclusively for this targeted population," Levinson said.

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