DEAL ISLAND, MD - The Somerset County Health Department wellness van operated as a mobile immunization clinic on Friday on Deal Island, offering an array of free vaccines to adults 18 years and older who may otherwise face barriers to protection.
The initiative is part of a statewide program to ensure adults can get vaccinated against the flu and other illnesses.
"There's a federal program, Vaccines for Children, and that covers kids that are up through the age of 18 and older are still going to have access to those vaccines that they need,” Somerset County Health Department Immunization Coordinator Laura Pryor said.
Somerset County was one of four counties selected by Maryland to kick off the initiative.
“A lot of our population does not have vehicles to be able to get to Salisbury, to be able to get to a doctor, to have vaccines and also we don't have a lot of providers down here in Somerset County,” Pryor said.
The effort also aims to make immunization available to those without insurance or whose insurance does not cover vaccination costs.
On Friday, in addition to the flu shot, the mobile clinic carried vaccines for COVID, measles, mumps, rubella, shingles, tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis. Somerset Health Department officials told WBOC they are working to obtain the pneumonia and RSV vaccines covered by the state initiative, but not yet in their arsenal.
Most vaccines take about two weeks to become effective, making now a good time to get vaccinated ahead of peak cold and flu season.
“I have a vaccine clinic every Monday at the health department, and I'm also very flexible, so if somebody can't come on that day, if I'm available, I don't mind doing it on another day,” Pryor said.
More information on the wellness van schedule and available immunizations is available on the Somerset County Health Department website.
To schedule an appointment, contact the health department at (443) 523-1700.
