The Somerset County Area Agency hit the ground running to help senior citizens as soon as the vaccine became available.
“Prior to that we were about a month maybe even six weeks ahead of the governor. We had talked to our consumers that are on our case load and we made a list of people that were interested in vaccines,” said James T. Yoder, Administrator for Somerset County Area Agency on Aging.
Under Governor Wolf’s order, vaccine providers are able to work with area agencies on aging to get vaccine appointments for senior citizens who need them.
That order coming down from the state last week.
“We took care of those who needed a homebound vaccine and our county commissioners are currently working on homebound vaccines, but they are definitely on that,” said Yoder.
James Yoder said they’ve been taking calls from the public and keeping a database to ensure those who needed a vaccine got an appointment.
So far he estimated that they helped 1,000 senior citizens working alongside their local providers UPMC and Mainline.
“A lot of people don’t have a computer at home or they don’t have Wifi at home…we really helped bridge that gap for people,” he said.
If you’re a senior citizen in need of a vaccine appointment, contact your local area agency on aging.
