The new Johnson & Johnson vaccine should make it much easier to get shots into the arms of the Bay Area's large homeless population.
Because the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is "one and done" without the need for a second shot several weeks later, it will be ideal when it comes to vaccinating the homeless.
"The people that are sometimes hardest to reach, there will be challenges getting them to come back for a second appointment. It’ll probably be easier for the city to serve the homeless population with the Johnson & Johnson shot when they’re out in the community doing a number of pop-ups," said San Francisco Mayor London Breed.
Breed got her dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week in order to help assure people that it is safe.
She said that mobile vaccine clinics will go out into neighborhoods like the Tenderloin to vaccinate people who may not have access to the internet to make an appointment and no healthcare provider to reach out to.
"The likelihood that this vaccine will be used for that population is very likely, because it’s going to be very helpful to making sure that they get vaccinated."
Under the state's new vaccine guidelines, all unhoused residents are now eligible to be vaccinated.
Some Bay Area counties are starting to inoculate homeless residents.
Last weekend, Contra Costa County set up a mobile vaccination clinic near a homeless community at the Martinez Marina, and this month Santa Clara County started vaccinating people at homeless shelters. One hurdle is that health officials are reporting a high degree of vaccine hesitancy among the homeless, with only about half agreeing to get the shot.
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