There's growing demand for in-home vaccinations for Premier Medical Group Hawaii
There's growing demand for in-home vaccinations in Hawaii. Healthcare professionals report visiting people where they are is another way to get COVID-19 vaccines into arms. Premier Medical Group Hawaii is a local private provider that administers shots door-to-door.
Since May, staff members have administered about a dozen shots. They’re anticipating more appointments in the coming months because booster shots are now available for immunocompromised patients.
The call for service can come in two ways: hospital referrals or patients contacting the clinic directly. Dr. Ka’ohimanu Dang-Akiona and her colleague David Buck pack up the shots and take them on the road.
“This is one way we can keep that vaccination push going,” Dang-Akiona said.
Staffing a mobile clinic could be as easy as two people. One person administering the shot, the other helping with paperwork.
Monday’s home visit was with 95-year-old Miu Chee Matsumura. Her son Miles is her caregiver, he believes this is a good method for people with mobility or transportation challenges.
“Things take three times longer to do because of transport,” he said. “She asked to do it outdoors because she said she didn’t want germs coming into the house so she already knew that outdoors is safer.”
Besides some backache Monday morning, Matsumura says she’s happy she received the third shot.
Dang-Akiona and her team are one of few private providers in the state that administers shots in homes and she hopes these efforts will expand.
“The contrast between the United Kingdom and us is they really mobilize their primary care physicians, really arm them to do in-home vaccinations,” she said.
The Department of Health reports its capacity for this type of service is about 50 per week. Other organizations administering shots are Pharmacare, Times Pharmacy and Project Vision Hawaii on Oahu.
A spokesperson with the health department says it's hard to coordinate appointments for the Big Island because of the size of the island. Pharmacies offering this service include Bay Clinic and KTA Super Stores pharmacies.
On Kauai, the Kauai District Health Office works with the county to administer shots at home with about 10 requests per week. A county-owned vaccine van responds to vaccination requests Saturday through Wednesday. The wait time for a date with the vaccine van is typically one or two days.
The delivery of in-home vaccinations is funded through a federal grant to HI-EMA.
To schedule an appointment with the state, call 808-586-8332 or 833-711-0645. The call center offers translation services in 30+ languages.
Premier Medical Group is offering in-home vaccinations for the entire island. To schedule an appointment, http://pmghbigisland.wixsite.com\pmghbigisland
By Nicole Tam, KITV4
https://www.kitv.com/story/44582783/theres-growing-demand-for-inhome-vaccinations-for-premier-medical-group-hawaii