Homebound and Waiting: Vaccine Push Misses Some Older New Yorkers

Efforts to vaccinate homebound seniors in New York have lagged, and the national pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine set them back further.

Antonia Laraki is homebound, with a leg badly swollen from lymphedema and a son with autism at home who relies on her. After applying for a citywide program in mid-March that vaccinates homebound people, she waited weeks just to hear when the city might be able to send someone to her apartment. Finally, on Tuesday, she got the news: A team of vaccinators would be able to make it to her apartment the next day, with the Moderna shot. The city had been using Johnson & Johnson for the program, but after a national pause in administering that vaccine because of a rare blood clot disorder, some of its partners were able to pivot. Still, the pause caused the cancellation of more than 1,000 appointments for homebound people, adding yet another hurdle to a program that has moved slowly.