Broome County has just been approved to send medical technicians into homes to vaccinate the home-bound not enrolled in home healthcare programs against COVID-19.

County officials say the Community Peri-Medical Program will start giving one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines to the elderly in their homes.

Kathy Whyte/ WNBF News
Kathy Whyte/ WNBF News
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One-dose vaccines were given over the past few weeks to homebound residents who are enrolled in Lourdes at Home and UHS at Home programs.

Several area residents have asked about when they might be able to get the single dose Jenssen Johnson & Johnson shot instead of the two-dose Pfizer or Moderna, which has primarily been offered through the Broome County Point of Distribution at the SUNY Broome Ice Center.  Only one clinic, on March 17, had the J&J vaccine for the eligible general population.

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Officials explain, the Johnson and Johnson shot, which doesn’t have to be kept in special, extremely cold freezers, has been directed primarily to programs where it is more difficult to get to a patient or for a patient to return for their second shot.  That could be the home-bound, county jail inmates who frequently aren’t held long enough to get the first dose then the second dose 28 days later or more rural areas where transportation is an issue.

Broome County Public Health Director Rebecca Kauffman says, however there could be some Johnson and Johnson shots available to the eligible general public as early as next week.  Keep checking the county website for vaccination clinic schedules.

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