“Crush Covid” Sentiment Reigns At Church Pop-Up

Fifty-four more people received Covid-19 vaccinations at Bethel AME Church on Goffe Street on Tuesday.

With the official expansion of vaccine qualifications from 55 – 65 years old starting this week, demand has mushroomed, and additional vaccination sites are popping up, and getting filled.

Yale New Haven Health ran the pop up. (Click here to read about a Bethel pop-up that took place last week.)

Technically, the pop-up was supposed to be for New Haven residents only. Others did end up getting shots, but no one seemed to mind, A broader mission of ending the pandemic prevailed.

New Haven natives and Bethel congregants Donald McAulay Sr., 58, and his wife, Debbie Stanley-McAulay, 55 (pictured in center), both felt encouraged to receive the vaccination alongside familiar faces of the community. McAulay Sr. has attended Bethel AME Church all his life. He said that receiving the Covid-19 vaccine at the church will prompt his family and friends to do the same.

“I was going to get the vaccine anyway, but I think that the availability and trust is key,” Donald said. ​“The fact that they can come in their neighborhood, come across the street here, or catch the bus here is huge. I think more and more of the African American community will understand the need for the vaccine; being able to do it right here allows more people to take advantage.”

As eligibility expands, vacancies are quickly being filled. This includes people from outside the area, and may fill available vacancies for local residents.

Stanley-McAulay, who works at Yale, said that she was pleasantly surprised to walk into Bethel and see a family friend working for the site. Stanley-McAulay said that she’s not worried about people coming from outside of the community to get shots — it’s all part of the mission to ​“Crush Covid,” she said.

“What concerns me is that the communication hasn’t penetrated the African American neighborhood” surrounding the church she said. ​“The efforts have to be very different. I don’t think an email is sufficient. I think there has to be a marketing campaign, door to door, and large organizations that are talking about crushing Covid.”

“Anyone was welcome to sign up. It’s geared for the community here,” said Yale New Haven Health Director of Community Health Nancy Hamson. ​“We had primarily members of this church, and their friends and family from the area.”

Delores Stafford, 62, of Westville heard about the vaccination pop-up through a friend of hers who works at Yale. Stafford said she had been eager to get her vaccination.

“I had been trying to call early and get an appointment at Yale, the Hill Health Center, or just any place that I was told where I could try,” Stafford said. ​“I wasn’t 65 yet, so I was told that I had to keep waiting.”

Stafford said that because she lives not far from Dixwell and has family and friends in the area, she considers herself part of the community. She said that when she started vaccination, she reservations, but quickly realized that the only way to get her life and country back on track was to get everyone vaccinated.

“If everybody gets vaccinated, then eventually things will get close to normal. I don’t think it’ll ever be the same again,” Stafford said. ​“I think that happens a lot with people coming into the inner city communities to get free things. With something as important as this, people are coming from everywhere. I wanted to wait my turn and make sure that the people who were older and needed it, got it.”

Leroy Mcdowell, 62, used to attend Bethel AME Church when he was younger. He has lived in Branford since the ​‘70s. He said that he received a text message from YNHH alerting him about the pop-up Covid-19 vaccination site.

“I think I received the information because I used to be a member of Bethel AME Church,” Mcdowell said. ​“I didn’t attend anywhere in Branford to get vaccinated because I’m not totally sure, but there’s no places in Branford offering this. And because I’m a patient of Hill Health Center and Yale is connected is how I think I got this information about the site today.”

Renee Hoff (at far left in photo with the McAulays), 58, from Hamden heard about the pop-up from a member and an email from NAACP. Hoff said that a few of her family members and friends had passed from Covid-19; that made her want to prevent that for herself by getting vaccinated.

“No matter who gets the vaccine, it’s one less person that can possibly spread the disease. Whether they live in the suburbs or in the city. I don’t think it really matters,” Hoff said. ​“But I do hope that people in Black and brown communities will get to know more about the vaccine, will get the vaccine, and will take care of themselves. Because we seem to be dying at a faster rate than other races. In order to put a stop to that, I hope that our people become more aware.”

Ralph Mooring, 61, lives only a couple blocks away from Bethel. He’s been out of work for one year due to being at risk for Covid-19, recently having had heart surgery. He was relieved to finally receive his vaccination.

“A lot of people don’t want to take the vaccine, and I tell them that you have 500,000 people dead,” Mooring said. ​“If you think about that opposed to the people who have died from the shot — Do the math. You better get that shot.”

Mooring said he has heard about people being upset about non-residents filling in available vaccination spots. He said that he previously had conversations with people saying that they want to see how other people react to the vaccination before receiving theirs.

“I find that a lot of people in inner city areas say that people from the suburbs are coming and taking their shots,” Mooring said. ​“I have to say that if people in the inner city don’t take the shot, then why not let them take the shot? I mean it can’t get wasted. If someone is willing to take it then let them take it until some people in the city make their minds up.”

Another Yale New Haven-run pop up is planned on Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Christian Tabernacle Church at 425 Newhall St. Click here for more info on vaccinations.