When the time came for residents and staff at the New York Avenue homeless shelter in northeast Washington, DC to receive their first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from Moderna, David Durham, who lives at the men’s shelter for three years, got scared.

Like many at the shelter, he had been bombarded with misinformation about vaccines: neighborhood talk and rumors turned into complicated conspiracy theories, many of which played out in distrust that the homeless already had government services.

But he was lucky.

“I’ve heard so many conspiracy theories, like they’re chipin ‘you, they’re going to inject you with some kind of liquid, that you’re going to be a guinea pig,” said Durham, a 34-year-old Washington native. years. “But I said, ‘You know what, I have to take it upon myself to lead by example.'”

Across the country, many cities and large urban centers have started the work of immunizing homeless people housed in their shelters, but few municipalities have ventured into the streets where the problem is compounded by mistrust, logistical obstacles and limited resources.

The newly licensed Johnson & Johnson vaccine, however, provided a timely solution for cities that have struggled to administer the two previously available vaccines to their protected homeless, and in particular to their homeless homeless, who are more transient and at increased risk in the midst of the pandemic. .

So far, their methods have been as varied as their readiness.

In Washington, city officials have implemented a multi-agency strategy to immunize homeless people of all ages or conditions, but have mostly refrained from immunizing those living on the streets. Durham was one of the first in his shelter to receive the vaccine and later became a peer educator, one of about two dozen homeless people currently or previously tasked by the city to educate others homeless people on the safety and effectiveness of different vaccines.

When asked if the program was a success, Durham admitted that it was difficult to convince people when many had already made up their minds. After all, Durham said, only about half of the peer educators in his program took the vaccine because the other half were too skeptical.

Vaccinating the protected homeless is supposed to be the easiest part, said Dr Patrick Kachur, a public health expert at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

“Reaching people at a fixed point, like a homeless shelter, is much more doable than raising awareness on the street,” Kachur said, adding that Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines have prevented many cities to do substantial awareness, as they each require storage. in freezing temperatures, second doses three to four weeks after the first, and may spoil if not used within a certain period of time.

In Los Angeles, grassroots organizations have paved the way for vaccinating people on the streets based on their age and other conditions, as city officials decide on a more coordinated approach. Los Angeles Christian health centers have been administering the Moderna vaccine to homeless people on the streets for nearly a month and now must find patients to administer second doses – a tricky effort.

In New York City, some 4,300 residents and workers of the city’s vast homeless shelter system have received a vaccine, according to a spokesperson for the Department of Homeless Services. Prior to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, no existing vaccine could be delivered on a mobile basis, and the city has yet to deploy outreach teams with the specific purpose of vaccinating unsheltered people, the carrier said. word.

Chicago vaccinated about 2,000 residents and staff within its shelter system, while outreach teams were only able to immunize about 125 unsheltered people living in settlements, a spokesperson for the city said. city. In Boston, 57 protected people received their first dose and street outreach teams hope to vaccinate unsheltered people in the coming days, a spokesperson for the city’s Public Health Commission told NBC News.

Kachur has said he believes the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a game-changer and will finally bring meaningful awareness to the streets.

For Laura Zeilinger, director of the Department of Social Services in Washington, the situation could not be more pressing.

“People who experience homelessness tend to have many risk factors due to their age and other health issues that make them a particular risk of extremely bad health problems, if they contract COVID,” Zeilinger said.

His department, in partnership with local healthcare providers, used pop-up clinics, peer educator programs and social media campaigns to immunize more than 900 protected people. They are preparing for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which could allow them to start vaccinating those who live on the streets. Peer educators like Durham are starting to woo this group, so when the time is right, mistrust will no longer be a barrier.

Like many cities on the West Coast, Portland, Oregon will not begin immunizing the homeless until new phases open, but may do so depending on age or condition. health. A spokesperson for Multnomah County said that “the county has sent vaccination teams to our physical shelter to provide vaccines to certain people who are eligible because of their age or medical condition.”

As is the case in Los Angeles and other California cities, San Francisco is awaiting state guidance to begin large-scale immunization of its vast homeless population, as vaccine shortages hamper deployment and the change of prioritization phases.

The homeless were originally supposed to be vaccinated along with emergency workers, childcare providers, teachers and food workers, but have since been fired by the state without knowing when they will be added to the other phases, a spokesperson for San Francisco’s Covid Command Center said. In the meantime, the city has vaccinated homeless people who are eligible under state guidelines at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.

In cities like Dallas, officials are starting to mention that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is used specifically for the homeless.

“We want to get them vaccinated while we can,” Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins told NBC affiliate KXAS. “It is to our benefit to vaccinate those who are ready to accept the vaccine in this population. It makes us all safer.”

Public health experts like Kachur hope that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, if prioritized for the homeless, will significantly alleviate many of the logistical challenges that cities have faced and make the vaccination of the homeless meaningful. street a reality.

Kachur also applauds efforts, like the Washington peer educator program, to allay the creeping mistrust that exists among the homeless. He believes it is necessary to prioritize this population in every way possible if the country is ever to achieve collective immunity.

“Sometimes it makes sense to start reaching the hardest to reach populations first,” Kachur said, “simply because it will take longer to get good coverage in these hard to reach populations.”

When the time came for residents and staff at the New York Avenue homeless shelter in northeast Washington, DC to receive their first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from Moderna, David Durham, who lives at the men’s shelter for three years, got scared.

Like many at the shelter, he had been bombarded with misinformation about vaccines: neighborhood talk and rumors turned into complicated conspiracy theories, many of which played out in distrust that the homeless already had government services.

But he was lucky.

“I’ve heard so many conspiracy theories, like they’re chipin ‘you, they’re going to inject you with some kind of liquid, that you’re going to be a guinea pig,” said Durham, a 34-year-old Washington native. years. “But I said, ‘You know what, I have to take it upon myself to lead by example.'”

Across the country, many cities and large urban centers have started the work of immunizing homeless people housed in their shelters, but few municipalities have ventured into the streets where the problem is compounded by mistrust, logistical obstacles and limited resources.

The newly licensed Johnson & Johnson vaccine, however, provided a timely solution for cities that have struggled to administer the two previously available vaccines to their protected homeless, and in particular to their homeless homeless, who are more transient and at increased risk in the midst of the pandemic. .

So far, their methods have been as varied as their readiness.

In Washington, city officials have implemented a multi-agency strategy to immunize homeless people of all ages or conditions, but have mostly refrained from immunizing those living on the streets. Durham was one of the first in his shelter to receive the vaccine and later became a peer educator, one of about two dozen homeless people currently or previously tasked by the city to educate others homeless people on the safety and effectiveness of different vaccines.

When asked if the program was a success, Durham admitted that it was difficult to convince people when many had already made up their minds. After all, Durham said, only about half of the peer educators in his program took the vaccine because the other half were too skeptical.

Vaccinating the protected homeless is supposed to be the easiest part, said Dr Patrick Kachur, a public health expert at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

“Reaching people at a fixed point, like a homeless shelter, is much more doable than raising awareness on the street,” Kachur said, adding that Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines have prevented many cities to do substantial awareness, as they each require storage. in freezing temperatures, second doses three to four weeks after the first, and may spoil if not used within a certain period of time.

In Los Angeles, grassroots organizations have paved the way for vaccinating people on the streets based on their age and other conditions, as city officials decide on a more coordinated approach. Los Angeles Christian health centers have been administering the Moderna vaccine to homeless people on the streets for nearly a month and now must find patients to administer second doses – a tricky effort.

In New York City, some 4,300 residents and workers of the city’s vast homeless shelter system have received a vaccine, according to a spokesperson for the Department of Homeless Services. Prior to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, no existing vaccine could be delivered on a mobile basis, and the city has yet to deploy outreach teams with the specific purpose of vaccinating unsheltered people, the carrier said. word.

Chicago vaccinated about 2,000 residents and staff within its shelter system, while outreach teams were only able to immunize about 125 unsheltered people living in settlements, a spokesperson for the city said. city. In Boston, 57 protected people received their first dose and street outreach teams hope to vaccinate unsheltered people in the coming days, a spokesperson for the city’s Public Health Commission told NBC News.

Kachur has said he believes the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a game-changer and will finally bring significant awareness to the streets.

For Laura Zeilinger, director of the Department of Social Services in Washington, the situation could not be more pressing.

“People who experience homelessness tend to have many risk factors due to their age and other health conditions that make them a particular risk of extremely bad health problems, if they contract COVID,” Zeilinger said.

His department, in partnership with local healthcare providers, used pop-up clinics, peer educator programs and social media campaigns to immunize more than 900 protected people. They are preparing for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which could allow them to start vaccinating those who live on the streets. Peer educators like Durham are starting to woo this group, so when the time is right, mistrust will no longer be a barrier.

Like many cities on the West Coast, Portland, Oregon will not begin immunizing the homeless until new phases open, but may do so depending on age or condition. health. A spokesperson for Multnomah County said that “the county has sent vaccination teams to our physical shelter to provide vaccines to certain people who are eligible because of their age or medical condition.”

As is the case in Los Angeles and other California cities, San Francisco is awaiting state guidance to begin large-scale immunization of its large homeless population, as vaccine shortages hamper deployment and the change of prioritization phases.

The homeless were originally supposed to be vaccinated along with emergency workers, childcare providers, teachers and food workers, but have since been fired by the state without knowing when they will be added to the other phases, a spokesperson for San Francisco’s Covid Command Center said. In the meantime, the city has vaccinated homeless people who are eligible under state guidelines at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.

In cities like Dallas, officials are starting to mention that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is used specifically for the homeless.

“We want to get them vaccinated while we can,” Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins told NBC affiliate KXAS. “It is to our benefit to vaccinate those who are ready to accept the vaccine in this population. It makes us all safer.”

Public health experts like Kachur hope that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, if prioritized for the homeless, will significantly alleviate many of the logistical challenges that cities have faced and make the vaccination of the homeless meaningful. street a reality.

Kachur also applauds efforts, like the Washington peer educator program, to allay the creeping mistrust that exists among the homeless. He believes it is necessary to prioritize this population in every way possible if the country is ever to achieve collective immunity.

“Sometimes it makes sense to start reaching the hardest to reach populations first,” Kachur said, “simply because it will take longer to get good coverage in these hard to reach populations.”