The administrator of a local golden age home is calling for Government to get better involved in ensuring that elderly residents at facilities across the nation are provided with COVID-19 vaccinations.

Though vaccination efforts are now under way for persons 75 years and older, Jennifer Shirley, registered nurse and operator of the Moravian Golden Age Home in St Andrew, has been left dismayed by the almost non-existent communication from the Ministry of Health and Wellness in seeing to it that her residents are accommodated.

Shirley told Our Today early Monday (March 29) that, three weeks after she had outlined her concerns about the ministry’s failure to provide information to her facility on the vaccination drive, she had yet to hear from any representative.

On March 12, days after Shirley first spoke with Our Today about receiving no notice on the procedure for elderly care home residents, the health ministry stated that it was compiling a list of senior citizens in care homes to be placed on standby to receive COVID-19 vaccines.

But on Monday, Shirley said with it appearing that no efforts were being made by the health ministry to reach out to her and orchestrate the vaccination of her residents who are 75 years and older, she had taken matters into her own hands.

“I haven’t heard anything further, but I have made arrangements to take [the residents] to the Arena on the 9th [of April],” Shirley said Monday.

After receiving the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine during last Saturday’s (March 27) National Vaccination Blitz, Shirley, said she took the decision to go online and register her residents who are 75 years and older.

Though she has taken this preventative measure to maintain the safety of all the residents at her home, she argued that utilising this method to have them inoculated was unrealistic.

“It’s not fair to be packing up all these people… in a car and taking them to the stadium,” said Shirley, noting the difficulties she would face in transporting them.

Shirley is therefore calling for the ministry to its implement a more mobile vaccination plan and have relevant health personnel visit golden age homes to inoculate residents, rather than forcing these individuals to visit public vaccination centres.

“I made the suggestion to the ministry earlier today that they should make arrangements for people to go to nursing homes and offer it (the vaccine) to the elderly,” she told Our Today later on Monday, indicating that she had decided to call the ministry herself on the matter.

It was not immediately clear, however, whether the lack of communication with the Moravian home was due to the facility being privately owned and calls to representatives from the Ministry of Health and Wellness went unanswered.