Homebound seniors get vaccine via sheriff ’s team
Program helps ensure many more vaccinated against COVD-19
Birdie Warren got her COVID-19 vaccine Friday morning, and she did not even have to leave her Calumet Park home.
Warren was the first stop on the first day of “in-home” vaccinations to homebound seniors in the Dixmoor area, provided by the Cook County sheriff ’s office. After getting the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, Warren said she was grateful.
“It means a lot, and I appreciate it very much because this way I don’t have to go anywhere” Warren said.
Warren said if the sheriff ’s office program had not come to her doorstep, she would have found another way to get a shot.
But she said she appreciated this was offered, as she has not been able to see many family or friends over the past year.
The vaccines are being administered through partnerships with Mobile Care Chicago, Meals on Wheels, the Cook County Department of Public Health and the Community Nutrition Network. Dr. Phil Sheridan administered the shot to Warren and then provided her with a vaccination card and his well wishes.
“There’s no lack of needy patients at home,” Sheridan said.
Before the county’s motorcade headed out to administer eight vaccinations Friday, sheriff ’s police Chief Marlon Parks gave a brief introduction outside of Rosa Parks Middle School in Dixmoor, where Sheridan said they were to administer about 200 vaccines that day. Parks said while the officers do not originally train for things such as vaccine distribution, that is where they are needed right now.
“Is this out of bounds of law enforcement? Yes, it is,” Parks said. “We are trying to provide an important service in the communities where we work. This will have a direct impact on how the community sees law enforcement.”
Parks said police are working directly with partners such as Meals on Wheels and AgeOptions to identify people who are homebound and in need of vaccination. And they are hoping to ramp up their capabilities.
“This is a plan we want to grow,” Parks said. “We want to take it to the next level. … It’s a slow walk, but we’re going to be running real soon.”
Sheridan said people can visit the Mobile Care Chicago and Howard Brown Health websites for information on vaccine availability and similar programs.