DOTHAN, Ala. – Alabama in May will begin sending out small COVID-19 vaccination teams to target homebound or otherwise isolated people who have been unable to access the vaccine at large community sites.
The units are a development that disabilities advocates in the state have long called for as vaccines have rolled out throughout the state.
The units, set to begin on May 10, will come as Alabama has plenty of COVID-19 vaccines doses to “go around,” Dr. Scott Harris said.
“I don’t want to be glib and say we don’t have barriers (to vaccine access) anymore,” Harris said Friday regarding vaccine access issues such as transportation, concerns for the medically complex and accessibility. “But in terms of the absolute number of doses in our state, there are plenty to go around.”
In a joint letter in late February, the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program, Alabama Arise and the Disability Leadership Coalition of Alabama wrote to Gov. Kay Ivey to “urge acceleration” of vaccination plans for Medicaid waiver patients, some 17,000 Alabamians who require nursing home-level care.
Beginning in May, Harris said there will be a mobile unit ready to go in each of Alabama’s eight public health districts. The Alabama Department of Public Health has been in talks with county health departments and social services such as local senior, mental health and rehab services to identify households who may want the vaccine but have been unable to seek it out.
There isn’t a set number of vaccinations each unit expects to deliver every day or week, Harris said. Official expect it to be small compared to mass drive-through clinics ongoing in Alabama’s biggest cities.
“It is a low-efficiency model. Many times you’re going to a rural area to vaccinate one household at a time,” Harris said. “It’s not going to be huge numbers of people at a time, but it is a way to reach people who can’t be reached otherwise.”
How many Alabamians have been vaccinated?
As of Friday, more than 3,859,115 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been delivered to Alabama, which this week cleared the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to begin distribution after a brief pause.
Vaccine supply has increased after a drop in demand and an increase in weekly dose shipments, as 2,501,390 doses have been administered as of April 30. Just under 1.5 million people have received at least one vaccine dose, while 1,085,735 have completed their dose series.
