This LevittownNow.com multi-part series on homelessness during COVID-19 has been supported in part by funding from In The Know Club members.
This LevittownNow.com multi-part series on homelessness during COVID-19 has been supported in part by funding from 
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
As COVID-19 vaccinations roll out across the United States, Bucks County’s homeless are waiting their turn.
County Health Department Director Dr. David Damsker said homeless people would fall into Phase 1B of the state’s vaccination plan, a group that also includes law enforcement, fire/rescue personnel, grocery store workers, educators and many other categories.
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Damsker said the county is still administering vaccines to Phase 1A groups that include long-term care facility residents and staff, emergency medical personnel, nurses, physicians, pharmacists and many others.
“At this time, we haven’t yet started the homeless population, as they are in 1B,” he said. “They would be a perfect use for the J & J (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine when it’s available, as it would alleviate some of the difficulties of locating them for a second dose.”
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine only requires one dose, unlike the two vaccines currently in use made by Pfizer and Moderna, which both require two, separated by three or four weeks.
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More than 85 million people across the country have received at least one dose of either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine as of the end of last week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Officials from local agencies who aid the homeless said vaccinating those who want it should be a priority once vaccines start in the 1B category.
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“People being out and exposed make them vulnerable, so the more that can be vaccinated the better,” Bucks County Opportunity Council Executive Director Erin Lukoss said.
“Building trust in the vaccines might be one of the biggest barriers. Convincing them to get it would be a good thing.”
So far, there have been no COVID-19 cases among staff and residents at the Bucks County Emergency Homeless Shelter in Levittown, said officials from the Family Service Association of Bucks County, the agency that operates the shelter. FSA Housing Director Murielle Kelly said all staffers, including herself, who want the COVID-19 vaccine have received it.
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Officials from Advocates for the Homeless and Those in Need, which provides shelter and meals for the homeless during the winter and also other services, said there has only been one COVID-19 case this winter at the Code Blue Shelter, Calvary Baptist Church in Bristol.
It came despite temperature checks, extensive health questionaires and other precautions and did not result in an extended closure of the shelter, AHTN officials said. Several volunteers and staff members from the group have gotten vaccinated, they added.
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United Way of Bucks County President/CEO Marissa Christie said she would love to see as many homeless people as possible get the COVID-19 vaccine as an added layer of protection both for themselves and those who work with them. The agency is not directly involved with vaccinations but helps provide several other services to the homeless.
There are 333 homeless people in Bucks County, according to a count done on Jan. 29, 2020. Those include people at the emergency shelter, in some other form of transitional housing and living outside. County Housing and Community Development Director Jeffrey Fields said results from a more recent count have not been updated or finalized yet but should be soon.
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“In my opinion, the need to vaccinate vulnerable populations as quickly as we can is huge,” Christie said. “If you are in a vulnerable category, which can mean many different things, then we need to ensure as a community that a path to vaccinations is open to you.”
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