Vaccines go mobile to keep older adults from slipping through the cracks

In Contra Costa County, CA, a mobile “strike team” is delivering COVID-19 vaccines to some of the area’s most vulnerable residents. The team began operating a few weeks ago, and targets residents of small assisted-living facilities and low-income senior housing. The mobile vaccine strike team stems from a collaboration involving the county, local home health agencies, advocates for long-term care residents, and nonprofit groups. It was created without additional public funding because Choice in Aging, a local nonprofit, paid its own administrative workers to staff the clinics alongside county public health nurses. The team of 5-6 people makes trips several days a week, using rolling carts that include syringes, bandages, and a vaccine cooler. To eliminate any wasted doses, the team has a list of caregivers on standby if any doses remain. Nurses say they can almost always extract a sixth dose from the vials, which are intended to contain five.