FAYETTEVILLE -- The city Board of Health wants to ensure equitable access to the covid-19 vaccine for people 70 and older, especially those who are homebound.
The board discussed outreach and putting together a list of homebound seniors during it meeting Wednesday, held online on Zoom.
People 70 and older are part of the 1-B group in the vaccine rollout, happening now. Three pharmacies in the city -- Collier Drug on Dickson Street, Heartland Pharmacy on Zion Road and Medical Arts Pharmacy at the southeast edge of town -- have been handling vaccinations for seniors, educators, childcare workers and other people in the rollout's earliest phase.
Many of those people have administrators or employers organizing vaccinations with the pharmacies. However, that's not the case for many people 70 and older, said Marti Sharkey, the city's public health officer.
"There are challenges with technology and the short supply. I want to be sure we are getting them vaccinated," she said. "I'm also anxious about how there's nobody right now vaccinating our homebound seniors. We don't have a way to get that information out. I think that's something this group could work actively on, and be proactive for that group."
The challenge is identifying homebound seniors, finding a way to get the vaccine to them, and having the vaccine available, Sharkey said. She planned to get in touch with home health agencies to compile a list, and board members offered to help with the resources available to them.
"The numbers aren't huge, but they're critical," Sharkey said.
Julie Stewart with Medical Arts Pharmacy joined the board meeting and said the 70 and older population presents some logistical challenges, especially homebound seniors. Getting them vaccinations requires more staff time, and the pharmacy is doing about 200 shots per day, she said.
The waiting list at the pharmacy for those 70 and older is about 1,500 people, Stewart said. The message right now is patience, she said.
"If they're on our waitlist, we are going to contact them one way or the other," said. "I feel like some of the time they just feel like they're being ignored."
Board Chairman Hershey Garner of Highlands Oncology asked Stewart if the pharmacy could get through its entire 70 and older waitlist in a week if it had enough vaccine.
"Theoretically," Stewart said.
Board members agreed a short supply serves as the biggest hindrance to getting shots in arms. President Joe Biden's administration this week announced its intention to buy 200 million new covid-19 vaccine doses, with allocations to states set to increase starting next week.
A group of retired and active nurses calling themselves Nurses Crushing Covid is ready to help administer shots once supply amps up, said Lori Mahler, one of the members. Drive-through mass clinics could serve as an effective way to reach the 70 and older population without them having to schedule an appointment online, which can be confusing or impossible for some, she said.
More and more former nurses and physicians are reaching out to volunteer their time, Mahler said.
"The bottom line right now, as I see it, is vaccine," she said. "I could probably get 20 more people in a week if I knew we had more shots to give."
More News
Web watch
For regular updates from Fayetteville’s public health officer, Dr. Marti Sharkey, go to:
Stacy Ryburn can be reached by email at sryburn@nwadg.com or on Twitter @stacyryburn.