| The U.S. will breathe a sigh of relief when it reaches herd immunity, a level of imperviousness to infection that may require vaccinating as much as 85% of the U.S. population. That will require health-care workers to inoculate the homebound, the homeless and the hesitant. One way health departments are trying to do that is by creating mobile vaccination units of roving nurses and emergency medical technicians. They drive directly to the sites where need is greatest—sometimes delivering doses in people's living rooms. The teams help combat the particular challenges faced by people who are older, immuno-compromised or disabled. For many, tasks like waking up early to schedule appointments, navigating online portals and standing in line are simply too difficult or even impossible. The mobile units also help bridge gaps for people who have limited access to public transportation or don't have a car. Northern California's Marin County launched its mobile vaccination units in late December. One visits long-term care facilities, low-income senior housing communities, sober-living houses and shelters; another does home visits. The county also contracts with testing provider Curative Inc. to deploy a van that parks in hard-hit or underserved areas.  A health-care worker stands in a van at a mobile drive-thru Covid-19 vaccination site in Novato, California. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg "A good portion of our public is very savvy with the internet. We're not worried about them," said Laine Hendricks, a Marin County spokeswoman. "We're worried about those people that don't have access to internet, can't get out of their homes, or there's a language barrier, or there's some fear about going to a government-run site. That's where these mobile units are going to come in to be pivotal." On one Friday in March, the mobile squad delivered 80 shots across four facilities for low-income seniors and disabled people, inoculating residents and staff with a dose of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. (Use of J&J's shot has since been paused pending a safety review by U.S. regulators.) The effort was led by Linda Dobra, who's been a nurse for the county for more than 20 years. A day with Dobra's team showed the planning, coordination and dedication needed to find and vaccinate the hardest-to-reach Americans. The U.S. believes it will have enough doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to give everyone a shot who wants one even without J&J. But the fact that each of them requires two doses to achieve full protection, combined with more complicated handling requirements, could make the effort more cumbersome. For Mark Powell, a 62-year-old resident of a low-income senior housing facility in the Marin County city of San Rafael, the mobile unit was a game-changer. A stroke made walking challenging, and he didn't drive. He hadn't even wanted the vaccine at first, but when the team arrived, he was glad he changed his mind. "It's so nice for all of these people to come to my door," he said.—Sarah Holder | 
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