Montco mobile vaccine unit has reached 2,000 people

Montgomery County’s mobile vaccine unit continues to administer first and second COVID-19 vaccine doses to vulnerable elderly residents and officials are looking to expand the program to include other homebound residents.

As of April 21, county health officials working with the mobile unit had administered 1,257 first doses of vaccine and 788 second doses of Pfizer vaccine, according to county data.

“Our goal is to vaccinate everybody who wants to be vaccinated,” county Commissioners’ Chairwoman Dr. Valerie Arkoosh said during a recent news briefing.

Last week’s pause in the Johnson & Johnson singledose vaccine did not impact the mobile operation as the county had been scheduled to administer only second doses of the Pfizer vaccine to individuals last week.

“We have never had a problem getting second doses here in the county so we have all of the Pfizer second doses that we require,” Arkoosh said.

Health officials, in coordination with the county Department of Public Safety, launched a mobile vaccination program in March and began taking vaccine to the county’s most vulnerable elderly residents who would otherwise not be able to visit a mass vaccination site.

The program, under the direction of Dr. Alvin Wang, has been serving elderly individuals who live in the 30 congregate senior housing complexes in the county. Each week, the county Office of Public Health is setting aside a portion of vaccine received from the state to supply the mobile vaccination effort.

Once health officials wrap up the vaccination program at congregate settings they plan to use the mobile unit to vaccinate other homebound residents in the county who don’t necessarily resident in congregate settings.