As the latest wave of COVID-19 continues infecting more Central Ohioans, vaccinations are coming into another front, people’s homes.
OFFOR Health, a Columbus-based company that provides clinical services for medical and dental companies, is partnering with the state of Ohio to bring vaccines to home-bound people who can’t travel to clinics to get immunized. Their first in-home shots will be distributed Monday.
The company is working with the state of Ohio as part of the Regional Rapid Response Assistance Program, which delivers vaccines to homebound people.
“There is a fair amount of patients who are homebound patients who for various reason don’t have the ability to get to a traditional vaccination clinic, (like) a lot of comorbidities and transportation challenges, so we’re taking the vaccine to them,” said Jamie Wilson, OFFOR’s director of paramedic.
He said they’ve signed up about 40 people to get shots and they’ll also offer vaccines to family members and caregivers of homebound patients. The company has already been operating vaccination clinics in under-served areas
Wilson said vaccinating people at homes brings more challenges than the highly-controlled environment of a clinic or hospital, including making sure the immediate area is clean and keeping vaccines stored at appropriate temperatures.
In February the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published guidance for health care professionals vaccinating people at home.
Wilson said for now their program is limited to people who can’t leave their home, but he hopes to eventually be vaccinating healthy people in their homes.
“That is our goal and absolutely hope that we can get to that point,” Wilson said.
