A 24-hour coronavirus vaccination event, aimed at getting people in Philadelphia’s hardest-hit neighborhoods vaccinated against COVID-19, drew a crowd willing to wait around the block in the snow.
The COVID-19 Black Doctors Consortium is holding a “Vaxathon” from noon Friday through Saturday at noon at Temple University’s Liacouras Center on North Broad Street in northern Philadelphia. The walk-up vaccination event is first come, first served.
People were already lined up in the cold sleet and snow on Friday morning before the event began. They said they wanted to make sure they got a place for a vaccine.
“If I can tailgate for the Eagles and stay there all day in the cold, why can’t you come out here and tailgate for yourself?” said the Rev. Gregory Lingham, perched on a lawn chair as the sleet fell.
Father Lingham said he wanted to set an example by going out to shoot.
“If I go out as a preacher, then maybe my voters will see that they do it and maybe they will go out and do it.”
Not everyone can go to get a dose of coronavirus vaccine.
The event aims to vaccinate people in vaccination group 1B in Philadelphia. BDCC seeks to serve “high-risk front-line workers who perform essential tasks, people who work and live in congregation settings, people aged 75 and over, and people with high-risk medical conditions,” according to a leaflet for the event.
You also need to be able to prove that you live (ID card, utility bill) in one of the “highest incidence zip codes of COVID-19 disease and death during the pandemic,” organizers said. These 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 Philly’s federally-qualified health centers (FQHCs) prepare to receive more doses to help vulnerable communities – and the White House says a future FEMA-run clinic in Pennsylvania The Convention Center will also help achieve this goal.
Initial data on who received the vaccines showed that 8% of patients were African American, in part because of racial disparities in health care, who received the first vaccine. The percentage has since risen to 20%.
At a news conference Friday, Dr. Scott McNeal of Delaware Valley Community Health said two of his organization’s FQHCs in Philly administer vaccines from the city’s supply. The organization hopes to start taking photos at a third location in the city once it begins receiving doses directly from the federal government.
The Health Resources and Services Administration has selected Del Val, PHMC, and the Family Practice and Counseling Network as 3 organizations in the city to receive vaccine doses directly from the federal government, out of 250 nationwide.
HRSA said it has selected sites that target homeless patients who live in public housing, are seasonal workers or have an English language.
McNeal said Del Val takes 500 photos a week and could increase to 1,000 a week if the third site opens. Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said federally qualified health centers across the city collectively administered 5,000 photos last week.
The Black Doctors COVID-19 consortium receives 2,500 doses per week from the city.
McNeal said health centers can reach their patients in vulnerable communities. At the press conference, Farley cited a study that indicates 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 place of mass vaccination. We are trying to complete these mass vaccination sites, “McNeal said.
McNeal said the BDCC’s work is commendable, but will be limited to reaching out to those interested.
“There are people who hesitate, who will not respond to them. And there is no way for a mass vaccination site to reach those people … If they don’t respond, then how do we know they are there?” “We know who those patients are and we give them access,” McNeal said.
He said doctors and staff are calling in eligible patients they know and convincing them to get vaccinated.
“The workforce is much more intense because we have to find them and try to convince them to enter. But the efficiency of reaching those patients who are really at risk is worth it, ”said McNeal.