Trenton Launches Homebound Resident Vaccination Campaign

City Bringing 1,000 Vaccines Directly to Residents with Health, Transportation Challenges Starting April 12

Trenton, N.J. – Mayor W. Reed Gusciora today announced that the City of Trenton Department of Health and Human Services is starting a homebound vaccination program this Monday, April 12, 2021 that will bring 1,000 Johnson & Johnson single-dose COVID-19 vaccines to Trenton residents who are unable to get to a vaccine clinic on their own.

In-home vaccinations will be provided to individuals – age 18 or over – who are immobile due to underlying medical conditions or transportation limitations. Homebound residents or their relatives can call (609) 815-2556 or email amthomas@trentonnj.org to schedule an in-home vaccine appointment.

All in-home vaccinations will be administered by qualified medical professionals who will use the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine, which is easier to transport and requires only one appointment. City medical staff will wait 15 to 30 minutes with each patient after administering the vaccine to monitor for side effects.

The city already has a list of 400 individuals for the program and is scheduled to visit multiple senior and high-density housing locations over the next few weeks including South Village, Luther Arms, Kingsbury Towers, Trent Center East, Trent Center West, North 25, and numerous residential properties throughout Trenton.

This effort was made possible due to ongoing support from the Trenton Health Team, the Henry J. Austin Medical Center, the Mercer County Board of Social Services, Trenton Housing Authority, Mercer County Meals on Wheels and the Trenton Council of Civic Associations.

“As we navigate our way out of this pandemic, the last thing we want is for our most vulnerable populations to fall behind,” said Mayor Gusciora. “If you can’t come to us, we’ll come to you. We won’t emerge from this crisis unless all of our residents have equal access to the vaccine, and we won’t rest until that goal is realized.”

This is one of many efforts taking place in Trenton to ensure that minority communities or individuals who face certain economic and health conditions do not fall behind in the state vaccine rollout. Just last week, Trenton finished a joint federal, state, and city vaccine clinic that brought 3,000 vaccines to Trenton’s religious congregations. The success of those efforts in Trenton resulted in the state allocating an additional 2,000 vaccines to the City that were also administered last week.

“We’ve shown time and time again that this City will use every resource at its disposal to get the job done,” said Dr. Adela M. Ames-Lopez, Director of Health and Human Services. “Every vaccine we’ve received has been used, and our efficiency at every vaccine clinic has helped us build a supportive network of state, federal, health care, and community partners who came together to provide this critical service to our most vulnerable residents.”

As always, all residents interested in the vaccine should reserve a spot at the state portal at covidvaccine.nj.gov. and contact the City Department of Health at (609)-989-3242 or covidvac@trentonnj.org.

The City of Trenton Department of Health and Human Services has directly administered a total of 11,800 vaccines, which does not include thousands of other Trentonians that have been vaccinated by Mercer County, Henry J. Austin, area pharmacies, and other entities.

Trenton has had a total of 6,700 COVID-19 cases and 87 related deaths to date