Older residents of Glendale can get a COVID-19 vaccine in the comfort of their own home starting next Friday.
The program is intended for eligible residents of Glendale who are 65 and older, and are homebound or lack means of transportation.
The effort, in partnership between Glendale Memorial Hospital and the Glendale Fire Department, is currently in its registration phase. The department says they hope to start inoculations on March 26, depending on vaccine availability.
To sign up, call 818-550-5617. For Armenian translation, call 818-550-5687.
“We are encouraging seniors in the community who are interested in the program to call,” said Silvio Lanzas, chief of the Glendale Fire Department. “We will take their information, validate that they’re a resident of Glendale, validate that they’re 65 and older, put them on a waiting list, and then, upon receiving vaccination availability, we will call them and schedule an appointment.”
They hope to schedule between 10 and 20 shots a day, Lanzas added. The program will go on “for the foreseeable future,” as long as vaccines are available.
“We do encourage people to take advantage early as to the sooner we can get community vaccinated, the sooner we can normalize,” the chief said. “So we encourage people to take the opportunity now because we just don’t know how long we have vaccine.”
Vaccines will be administered by either emergency medical services and fire personnel or by clinical hospital staff from Glendale Memorial.
Participants need to show an ID for proof of age and residency in Glendale.
When a vaccination crew shows up at the door, they will be in fire department uniform and likely with an ambulance. The hospital staff will have ID that clearly identifies who they are.
The vaccine is free and seniors will not be asked for any sort of payment. But when you call to sign up for an appointment, hospital staff may ask for insurance information, though insurance is not required.
Residents who are bedridden but are not 65 and older, can call the number and the department will take those on a case-by-case basis, according to Lanzas.
Early on in the pandemic, the Fire Department had volunteers deliver groceries to older residents in an effort to get them to stay at home.
“We kind of made a connection with our senior community, and we hope this will help expand vaccination to those most vulnerable, and seniors who are unable leave their homes,” Lanzas said.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in Glendale reached 19,343 Thursday, with 571 deaths from the virus, city data shows.
The city follows coronavirus guidelines laid out by the Los Angeles County Public Health Department.
As such, people in Glendale currently eligible for a vaccine include: health care workers; staff and residents at skilled nursing facilities and at long-term care facilities; residents 65 and older; those in education and childcare, emergency services, food and agriculture, janitorial, custodial and maintenance services, transportation and logistics; those who live or work in congregate living spaces; and individuals with health conditions and disabilities.
Those who qualify and would like to make an appointment to go to either one of the five large county vaccine distribution sites, L.A. Fire Department sites, community clinics, hospitals or pharmacies, can sign up at:
- The county’s website
- Call 833-540-0473
- Visit the state’s MyTurn pilot site
- Pharmacies at CVS or Rite Aid
All locations are by appointment only.