RESIDENTS in two of the three care homes in Strabane have received their Covid booster jabs as part of the new roll out programme.
Melmount Manor and Woodmount Nursing Homes were visited by teams last Saturday and Sunday who administered the jabs in accordance with government guidelines. Residents of Greenfield, the third of the care homes in the town, are expected to receive their boosters on the 18th of this month.
Between September 29 and October 24, mobile vaccine teams are due to visit over 60 care homes within the Trust area, with Supported Living facilities and homeless clinics to follow. The aim is to vaccinate front line workers, all adults aged 50 years or over; all those aged 16 to 49 years with underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk of severe Covid-19; adult carers and adult household contacts of immunosuppressed individuals.The roll-out will be on a phased basis, with the booster vaccine dose offered no earlier than six months after receipt of the second dose.
A spokesperson for Melmount Manor said this week that the booster team arrived promptly on the day and, “conducted themselves in an efficient and professional manner with everything running smoothly.”
Garrett Martin, operational lead officer of the Western Trust vaccination programme, was upbeat about the project.
“Giving our care homes the best possible chance of withstanding Covid-19 outbreaks is an integral part of our vaccination programme,” he said. “We are indebted to the care homes and their staff for their co-operation in helping us to deliver this programme not only to residents, but to staff too.
“Our vaccination teams are highly experienced, and despite the scale of the task at hand, we are fully confident that we will be in a position to visit all 60-plus care homes right across the Western Trust area over the next month.”
Meanwhile, the community pharmacy vaccination programme is due to come to Strabane within weeks. The programme, which was launched last month, will see pharmacies across the North given permission to administer a third ‘booster’ jab of the Moderna vaccine. A list of community pharmacies who are part of the initiative in each Trust is available on the Department of Health website.
Boots in Strabane is the only town pharmacy currently on the list. The Mian Street branch hopes to begin administering jabs in the coming weeks.
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