MARION — Marion began vaccine clinics for its older population on Feb. 5, and Town Administrator Jay McGrail said the town will continue working hard to get its most vulnerable residents inoculated. 

“Our main concern was with the population that’s kind of homebound,” he said. 

The clinic at the Benjamin D. Cushing Community Center was tailored toward Marion residents 85 and older. The town based its outreach on census data, calling residents to schedule their vaccinations. 

McGrail said calling residents to schedule the vaccination was “labor intensive,” but “it seems to be working for this age group.” 

Despite the personal approach, the Town Administrator said some residents remained wary of the vaccine. 

“We had more people not taking it than we thought,” he said. 

But some who were hesitant eventually decided to take the vaccine. 

In all, the town vaccinated much of its 85-and-up population — alongside a few 84-year-olds — exhausting its 100-dose supply. 

Going forward, the town will continue to focus on its older population, with a goal of vaccinating its residents who are over 75 years of age. Due to the workload involved with the vaccine clinics, McGrail said he’s unsure how long they will continue after the 75-and-up population are inoculated. 

But with just 100 vaccines allotted to the town weekly, McGrail said “we’re completely beholden to the state.”