[ad_1]
A 24-hour coronavirus vaccination event aimed at vaccinating residents of Philadelphia’s worst-affected neighborhoods against COVID-19 has drawn a crowd ready to wait around the block in the snow.
The Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium is holding a “Vaxathon” from noon Friday to noon Saturday at the Liacouras Center at Temple University on North Broad Street in north Philadelphia. The walk-in vaccination event is on a first come, first served basis.
People were already lined up in the ice and snow on Friday morning before the start of the event. They said they wanted to make sure they had a place for a vaccine.
“If I can tailgate for the Eagles and sit there all day in the cold, why can’t you come here and do the tailgate for yourself?” said Reverend Gregory Lingham, sitting bundled up in a lawn chair as the sleet descended.
Reverend Lingham said he wanted to set an example by going out for the shot.
“If I run for a preacher, then maybe my constituents will see that I am doing it, and maybe they will come out and do it.”
Not everyone can walk to receive a dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
The event aims to vaccinate people in the Philadelphia 1B vaccination group. The BDCC seeks to serve “front-line workers at high risk of exposure who perform essential tasks, people working and residing in assembly places, people 75 years of age and older, and people with health problems at high risk, ”according to a flyer from the event.
You must also be able to prove that you live (ID, utility bill) in one of the “postcodes with the highest incidence of COVID-19 disease and death during the pandemic”, said the organizers. Here are the 20 postal codes you must live in to receive your vaccine: 19104, 19119, 19120, 19121, 19123, 19126, 19131, 19132, 19133, 19138, 19139, 19140, 19141, 19142, 19143, 19144, 19146, 19150 , 19151, 19153.
Philly Federal Health Centers Receive More Doses
The 24-hour vaxathon comes as Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) in Philly are set to receive more doses to help vulnerable communities – and the White House says an upcoming FEMA-run clinic at the Pennsylvania Convention Center will also help achieve this goal.
Initial data on people who received vaccines showed that 8% of patients were African Americans, in part because of racial disparities in healthcare, who were vaccinated first. The percentage has since risen to 20%.
At a press conference on Friday, Dr Scott McNeal of Delaware Valley Community Health said two FQHCs from his organization in Philly were administering vaccines from the city’s supply. The organization hopes to begin administering injections at a third site in the city once it begins receiving doses directly from the federal government.
The Health Resources and Services Administration selected Del Val, PHMC and Family Practice and Counseling Network as 3 city organizations to receive vaccine doses directly from the federal government, out of 250 nationwide.
The HRSA said it had selected sites that cater to homeless patients, who live in public housing, are seasonal workers or have limited fluency in English.
McNeal said Del Val makes 500 shots per week and could increase to 1,000 per week if his third site opens. Health Commissioner Dr Thomas Farley said the city’s federally qualified health centers collectively administered 5,000 injections last week.
The Black Doctors COVID-19 consortium receives 2,500 doses per week from the city.
McNeal said health centers can reach their own patients in vulnerable communities. Speaking at the press conference, Farley cited a study indicating that patients are more likely to trust their own doctor or nurse for information about the vaccine, compared to celebrities or public health officials.
“We are not trying to be a site for mass vaccination. We are trying to supplement these mass vaccination sites, ”McNeal said.
McNeal said the BDCC’s work is commendable, but will be limited to reaching those who are interested.
“There are people who hesitate who will not answer them. And there’s no way a mass vaccination site could reach these people.… If they don’t respond, then how do we know they’re out there ?. .. We know who these patients are and we educate them, ”McNeal said.
He said doctors and staff called eligible patients they knew and convinced them to get the shot.
“It takes a lot more work because we have to find them and try to convince them to come. But the payoff to reaching these really at-risk patients is well worth it,” McNeal said.
[ad_2]
Source link