PEABODY — The city of Peabody has announced that it will be offering in-home vaccinations to homebound residents.
The program is in partnership with the Massachusetts State InHome Vaccination Program.
The initiative, which is scheduled to begin by the end of March, will be offered to Peabody residents who are medically homebound and would otherwise not be able to access vaccinations at either city clinics or any of the state’s mass vaccination sites.
“Often, residents who are homebound have medical conditions that place them at higher risk for serious complications if they are exposed to the COVID virus,” said Peabody Director of Health and Human Services Sharon Cameron. “These residents often have caregivers who come into their homes to provide services. Even when the caregiver themselves is vaccinated, we want to ensure that our homebound residents have the extra protection of a vaccine to protect themselves as fully as possible.”
Any Peabody resident who is homebound and within the current phase of eligibility for vaccination can register to be considered for an in-home vaccination.
The state program will be responsible for all aspects of the in-home vaccination program, including intake, screening for eligibility, scheduling, vaccine administration, and reporting.
The city of Peabody will be supporting this process by providing prescreening of residents who may be eligible for the in-home program.
To sign up to be placed on the state’s call-back list to set up an appointment, you or your caregiver should call the Peabody Board of Health COVID-19 Information line at (978) 538-5921. The board will share residents’ contact information with the state program, which will be reaching out to interested individuals for intake and screening starting the week of March 15.
Cameron said the state’s vendor has the capacity to perform in-home vaccinations for all who meet the state’s eligibility requirements and that Peabody currently has a list of approximately 70 individuals that the health department has pre-screened and are submitting to the state for intake.
Peabody typically provides a similar service when it comes to in-home flu vaccinations.
“Each year, with the exception of this year, our public health nurse provides in-home flu vaccinations to homebound residents,” Cameron said, adding that typically, about 10-12 residents request the service.
Residents are advised that it may take several weeks before at-home appointments for the COVID-19 vaccine are available.
