As the COVID-19 vaccine supply continues to increase, more appointments are opening — but getting to those appointments can be challenging for those who are unable to leave their homes without assistance.
Harrison March is with the Heritage Area Agency on Aging in Cedar Rapids.
“It’s a big hurdle to figure out exactly how to get people to a clinic to a central location where there are one thousand vaccines for people in town,” March says. ” And it’s not as easy to allocate the resources on the other end to get to individual homes and do one person at a time.”
The state has six regional agencies — and March says some do have the resources to help homebound residents. “There are some areas where there’s assisted transportation that can accommodate a wheelchair for someone who needs to get assistance from door to door as well as have that larger space to travel inside of a vehicle,” March says.
March says if you need help in getting a vaccination, have your caregiver call the local Area Agency on Aging.
(By Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)