Pop-Up COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics In HoCo Help Protect More People

Columbia MD

19 March, 2021

4:04 PM

Description

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Numerous people are unable to travel to a pharmacy or mass vaccination site to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, but thanks to Howard County's mobile vaccine clinic, more people in "hard-to-reach" communities are about to get it. On Friday, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball visited the mobile vaccine clinic parked at St. John Baptist Church in Columbia. The clinic was operated by the Mobile Integrated Community Health team, a program of the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services. The MICH unit is expanding to bring the vaccine to targeted areas for distribution, as supply allows. "I truly appreciate St. John Baptist for hosting this clinic so that the vaccine is easily accessible and available to people in our community, especially those who have trouble traveling to further mass vaccination sites," Ball said in a statement. "As we receive more vaccine supply, it's vital that we have these local, safe clinics for our residents in their neighborhoods, to ensure equitable distribution of the vaccine and build trust within our hard-to-reach communities." The clinic was an interdepartmental initiative with 100 doses of Moderna vaccine supplied by the Howard County Health Department. The Howard County Department of Community Resources and Services provided additional logistical support. "Community clinics like the one at Saint John Baptist Church are critically important to meeting people where they are and providing an opportunity to receive vaccine in a trusted and familiar environment," Dr. Maura Rossman, Howard County Health Officer, said. "These cooperative clinics ensure that we are able to reach our most vulnerable populations." Howard County Fire Chief William Anuszewski said the pop-up clinics are "simply the right thing to do." "We are part of this community and we will continue to serve them," he said. Rev. Robert Turner, senior pastor at St. John Baptist, said the church, county government and the health department came together to provide "help, hope and a literal life line to African American seniors at our church and in our local community." "While we have not resumed in-person worship in the sanctuary, today illustrated that in terms of community service, the doors of the church are open. One senior who got vaccinated said to me as she left, brighter days are coming," Turner said. Read more: How To Get The Coronavirus Vaccine In Howard County Here's How Many Howard County Residents Have Been Vaccinated