Albany Co. Sheriff’s Office EMS Division to administer COVID-19 vaccines

ALBANY COUNTY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – Starting early next week, the Albany County Sheriff’s Office EMS Division and local volunteer healthcare professionals will be administering the COVID-19 vaccine to Albany County residents through a pilot drive- through vaccination pod program.

On Thursday, Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple reached out to the governor’s office/State Department of Health to see if the sheriff’s office can help administer the COVID-19 vaccine locally. “We’re completely autonomous and now we can start pumping out that vaccine…Within 36 hours, we had our POD, we had our own link to the NAICS number which is where the data has to go. We are going to be dropped shipped our own vaccine,” says Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple.

The Albany County Sheriff’s office has already received 200 vaccines, which are all booked for first responders and front line workers on Sunday. Many first responders have yet to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Hopefully as soon as Tuesday, the Albany County Sheriff’s Office EMS Division and volunteer healthcare professionals will be the ones to administer the vaccine to residents who fall under Phase 1b of New York State’s vaccine rollout.

 “Out in Clarksville which is where our hub for public safety is, we have an 85 by 155-foot long building. We are going to have three drive-thru lanes there and we plan on doing a lot of people,” says Sheriff Apple.

This drive-thru vaccination pod program will help many residents in the rural parts of Albany County. Overall, Sheriff Apple’s goal is to help everyone across the county. “I don’t care where you’re from, if you fit within the categories call us, and we’ll get you the shot. I am not going to target and say just this area; I want to get as many vaccinations out there as possible,” says Sheriff Apple.

According to a release from Albany Med, nearly 30,000 Capital Region residents have already received the COVID-19 vaccine. Sheriff Apple anticipates the sheriff’s office EMS Division will receive 800-1,000 vaccines early next week to administer under the governor’s vaccine rollout guidelines.

Continuing these efforts, the Albany County Sheriff’s Office EMS Division is also working on a community paramedicine program, where paramedics can vaccinate the elderly at the comfort of their own homes.