LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The COVID-19 vaccine is widely available across the state, but not everyone can get it.
This is why the Arkansas Department of Health and pharmacies are coming together to give shots to the homebound.
Dr. Jennifer Dillaha with the department of health said they started reaching out to this population about three weeks ago.
"It needed to happen. They've been on our radar screen from the very beginning," she said.
Not everyone can get in their car and drive over to a vaccination site, so Dillaha said the health department and local pharmacies are bringing the shots to them.
"We feel it's really important for all Arkansans to be able to receive the vaccine if that's what they choose. We don't want any barriers out there," she said.
According to Dillaha, all it takes is a call to the ADH vaccination hotline. They pass the caller's information onto the Arkansas Pharmacist Association who then matches the nearest pharmacy with that person.
"The vaccinator will come to the home and we're happy for them to vaccinate anyone else in the home or caregivers or family or friends," she said.
There was an initial list of about 1,000 people that Dillaha said they've made a good dent in and every week they get about 10 to 20 more calls.
This isn't the only way they're reaching the homebound, though.
Pharmacists, like Jon Martin at Bryant Family Pharmacy, have been going the extra mile for a while now.
"Even back when we very first started giving COVID vaccines, back in December, patients started calling then wanting us to come give them shots at their house," he said.
As soon as eligibility opened up, Martin and his team have been vaccinating five to 10 people a week right in their living rooms, so they can get a chance at that shot of hope.
"They're the ones, most likely, to have serious illness from COVID, so we go and give them the shot and it allows them to have a more normal functioning life," he said.
If you need a vaccine given to you at your house, you can call the health department vaccination hotline at 1-800-985-6030.
Martin also said you can call your local pharmacy and many of them are more than willing to come on out.