Atrium Health Navicent is partnering with the Georgia Department of Public Health to vaccinate homebound individuals in four counties who otherwise wouldn’t have an opportunity to receive a Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

Nurses began visiting the homes of individuals identified by the Area Agency on Aging and Department of Public Health on Thursday, April 1.

“As a health system, Atrium Health Navicent is working to bridge barriers to vaccine access in the communities we serve, ensuring the most vulnerable among us are able to receive protection against COVID-19,” said Atrium Health Navicent President and CEO Delvecchio Finley. “By partnering to reach those in need, Atrium Health Navicent is working on the front line to slow the pandemic’s spread.”

While the Johnson & Johnson vaccine only requires one dose to be administered, nurses providing the vaccinations are skillfully working around logistics as they vaccinate individuals over a broad geographic area. Each vial of vaccine contains five doses. Once the doses are drawn up, nurses have just two hours to administer the five doses to five individuals, often in five different locations, before they expire.

“It’s a bit of a challenge, but our team has made plans to make the best use out of every single dose,” said Atrium Health Navicent Healthy Communities and Palliative Care Director Carol Babcock.

Homebound vaccinations will be provided in Baldwin, Bibb, Monroe and Peach counties over the next two weeks.

“Vaccinating Georgians is key to ending COVID-19, but for individuals who are homebound and living alone without a support system, getting a vaccine can be extremely difficult,” said Dr. Kathleen E. Toomey, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health. “We want to ensure that homebound individuals are not overlooked in the vaccination process, so this collaboration with Atrium Health Navicent demonstrates our collective ability to get the vaccine to vulnerable individuals in Georgia who need it most.”