A 24-hour coronavirus vaccination event aimed at vaccinating people in Philadelphia’s most affected neighborhoods against COVID-19 drew a crowd willing to wait around the block in the snow.
The Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium is hosting a “Vaxathon” from noon on Friday to noon on Saturday at the Liacouras Center at Temple University on North Broad Street in northern Philadelphia. The direct vaccination event is the first to arrive, first to be served.
People were already lined up in the cold hail and snow on Friday morning before the event started. They said they wanted to make sure they had a vacancy for a vaccine.
“If I can take care of the Eagles and sit outside all day in the cold, why can’t you come here and take care of your own body?” said Rev. Gregory Lingham, sitting curled up in a lawn chair as the snow fell.
Rev. Lingham said he wanted to set an example by showing up to make his attempt.
“If I take on the role of preacher, perhaps my constituents will see that I am doing this, and perhaps they will go out and do this.”
Not everyone can approach to receive a dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
The event aims to vaccinate people in the Philadelphia vaccination group 1B. BDCC is looking to serve “frontline workers at high risk of exposure who perform essential tasks, people who work and live in congregated environments, people aged 75 and over, and people with high-risk medical conditions,” according to one event brochure.
You must also be able to prove that you live (identity card, electricity bill) in one of the “CEPs with the highest incidence of COVID-19 disease and death during the pandemic,” said organizers. These are the 20 postal codes you must live 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 receiving more doses
The 24-hour vaxathon takes place while health centers qualified by the federal government of Philadelphia (FQHCs) are ready to receive more doses to help vulnerable communities – and the White House says a clinic run by FEMA at the Convention Center at Pennsylvania will also help achieve that goal.
Initial data on who was receiving the vaccines showed that 8% of patients were African-American, in part because of racial disparities in the health field, who took the vaccines first. Since then, the percentage has increased to 20%.
At a news conference on Friday, Dr. Scott McNeal of Delaware Valley Community Health said that two FQHCs from his organization in Philadelphia are administering vaccines from the city’s supply. The organization hopes to start administering vaccines at a third location in the city as soon as it starts 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 organizations in the city to receive vaccine doses directly from the federal government, out of 250 across the country.
HRSA said it selected locations that serve homeless patients, who live in public housing, are seasonal workers or have limited fluency in English.
McNeal said Del Val is doing 500 doses a week and could increase it to 1,000 a week if its third location is opened. Health commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said that federally qualified health centers across the city collectively administered 5,000 vaccines last week.
The Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium is receiving 2,500 weekly doses from the city.
McNeal said health centers can reach their own patients in vulnerable communities. At the news conference, Farley cited a study indicating that patients are more likely to trust their own doctor or nurse to obtain information about the vaccine, compared to celebrities or public health officials.
“We are not trying to be a mass vaccination site. We are trying to complement these mass vaccination sites, “said McNeal.
McNeal said that the work of the BDCC is commendable, but will be limited to reaching those interested.
“There are people who are hesitant who are not going to respond to them. And there is no way for a mass vaccination site to reach these people … If they do not respond, then how do we know they are out there? .. We know who these patients are and we are promoting it to them, “said McNeal.
He said doctors and staff are calling eligible patients they know and convincing them to take the injections.
“It’s a lot more work because we have to find them and try to convince them to come. But the performance of reaching patients who are really at risk is worth it, ”said McNeal.