FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – Homebound residents in Flagler County are getting the COVID-19 vaccine through a special group of paramedics but the visits provide more for the residents than just the shot.
Each day, the county’s community paramedic team’s list of people to visit is getting longer. As of Tuesday, the group had already given more than 140 people the vaccine.
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“This is very exciting. I’m very pleased that they’re willing to come to the house because it’s hard for me to get out to the fairgrounds,” said Deborah Stolley, who received her second dose at home Tuesday.
Caryn Prather is part of the county’s three-person paramedic team delivering vaccines to homebound residents. She said it’s the first face-to-face interaction many of them are having in close to a year.
“We’ve seen people cry when we come into their house because they just have had no contact with anyone for such a long period of time,” she said.
The county already had a list of those with special needs to help them in emergencies, like hurricane evacuations.
“Now, we have it so that people can just call in if they are homebound so that we can go to their house,” Prather said.
An emergency planner with the county sets up and tracks the routes for the appointments. Though only about 15 minutes long, the interactions have been meaningful for all involved.
“You may think you’re having a bad day until you go to some of these people’s homes and you see that what you’re complaining about is nothing compared to some of these people. And they’re the kindest, nicest people you’d ever want to meet,” Prather said.
The paramedic team’s goal is to get more than 400 homebound people in the county vaccinated.
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