Maya McFadden Photo
Varick’s vaccination pop-up Wednesday.
New Haven’s oldest Black church, Varick Memorial AME Zion Church, partnered with the Health Department to offer 51 vaccinations Wednesday at the city’s 12th pop-up clinic aimed at protecting communities of color from Covid-19.
Varick Pastor Kelcy Steele opened the church’s doors to the public to help make vaccination distribution accessible and equitable. Many people said they felt more secure getting vaccinated at a place of worship like Varick, Steele said.
Pastor Steele: Medical distrust is understandable. Please still get the vaccine.
“This is a safe place, and many came because they felt most comfortable inside a church,” Steele said.
So far the city has administered 7,351 vaccinations, including 5,555 first doses. (That’s separate from the vaccinations administered by Yale New Haven Health, Hill and Fair Haven Health centers, or nursing homes), With these Wednesday pop-up events the city has gone out into the community to reach people who otherwise might not get the vaccine. (Click here to read a story about last week’s pop-up at Bethel AME Church.)
“It’s very important for us to ensure that we provide the communities that historically have not had access to health care the opportunity to get vaccinated,” Mayor Justin Elicker said.
Varick vaccination clinic Wednesday.
In coming weeks Varick will partner with Cornell Scott-Hill Health to offer an additional space for its weekly vaccination clinic, Steele said.
West Rock/West Hills Alder Honda Smith said she was skeptical about the vaccination when it first rolled out.
“Now I’ve got the courage because I want to live,” she said. “I was tired of sitting at home in fear.”
Alder Smith gets her first dose at Wednesday’s pop-up.
Smith recorded the ten-minute process of registering for the vaccination then getting the shot on Facebook Live to urge the community to follow in her footsteps.
Christopher Blazejovsky, 32, who lives in a New Haven sober house, heard from the home’s owner that he was eligible to get vaccinated.
Blazejovsky went through drug and alcohol treatment in Florida and recently was moved to New Haven. The pandemic has caused for his recovery journey to be more difficult because of a lack of family time, he said. “It’s been tough with staying sober when you can’t do much to stay busy.”
Christopher Blazejovsky.
His treatment meetings have been switched to a virtual platform. “You don’t have the security of hugging or shaking hands” Blazejovsky said.
After getting vaccinated, Blazejovsky said he hopes to visit his family more often.
Dixwell/Prospect Hill Alder Steve Winter said the city must expedite its strategy to open vaccination sites in neighborhoods the way it expanded Covid testing in the summer.
“We need to ramp up access to vaccinations in the community so that our Black and brown residents are well served,” Winter said.
Sharon Willard, 71, got vaccinated Wednesday as a staff member at Community Action of New Haven.
“I know others are hesitant, so I figured I ought to get it,” she said. Willard said she called into the Health Department last week and within five minutes was offered her Wednesday appointment.
Charles Moye.
Charles Moye, 73, couldn’t get vaccinated at his local CVS in Seymour because they hadn’t received their shipment. He called the New Haven Health Department Tuesday and got scheduled for a Wednesday appointment.
Moye was urged by his son to get vaccinated because his underlying health issues put him at risk if he gets Covid. Since the start of the pandemic, Moye has been avoiding visiting he hospital as much as possible. “I’m still not sure what’s in it and all of its effects. because they don’t tell you that stuff. But I don’t want to run out of time when they run out,” he said of the vaccine.
While in nursing school, Moye visited a hospital and saw a patient suffering from a severe case of the flu struggling to use a ventilator. Moye recalled thinking to himself: “I don’t want to die like that.” So he got the vaccination.
Since the start of the pandemic Annette Moore-Powell, 67, has been only to church and the grocery store. Moore-Powell, who lives in North Haven, got vaccinated after her daughter, who lives in New Haven, told her about the Varick pop-up site. “It was nice here. A church definitely makes it feel more safe,” she said.
Annette Moore-Powell.
Moore-Powell was motivated to get vaccinated by her nephew, who caught Covid recently. “The way he explained it to me is like nothing you want to get,” she said of Covid-19. She also has a niece who got sick from Covid.
Despite being worried about the potential side effects of the vaccination, she got her first dose of the vaccine Wednesday and left with a scheduled appointment to get her second dose in March.
James Carr.
Whiling bringing his mom to get vaccinated, James Carr noticed the registration sheet said first responders are eligible to get the shot. As a fire inspector for Yale University, Carr didn’t hesitate to register himself as well Wednesday. “It’s a no-brainer,” he said.
The pandemic has increased Carr’s workload at the department. Not only has work caused him stress, he said, but some of his friends have passed away after catching Covid.
“I want to avoid passing it along to my mom and the community,” he said.
All community members who got vaccinated Wednesday left with a scheduled follow-up appointment to get their second dose at Varick on March 24.
Pop-Up COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic at Varick Church
Posted by New Haven Independent on Wednesday, February 24, 2021
CT #7 in getting vaccines into arms.
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/public-health/states-ranked-by-percentage-of-covid-19-vaccines-administered.html
A fire inspector is not really a medical first responder, but Mr. Carr has grey hair, so he's probably eligible soon anyway. I hope his inoculation is a sign Bond is focusing on getting shots in arms, rather than worrying about people who may not be eligible until Monday.