JOPLIN, MO – With COVID cases on the rise again, an area organization is trying to make sure everyone has the chance to get vaccinated, regardless of their living situation.
To get information on the various COVID vaccines and where you can go to get one, most of us just turn on the T.V. or read a paper and search on the internet.
But that’s not an option for at least some people in the four state area who might not have any of those resources.
The Community Clinic is working with a number of local organizations that have contact with the homeless population.
“Each of the entities that we’re going out to are really trying to do some education with their people a head of time, making them aware of the rise in cases, helping them to understand the safety of the vaccine um that’s part of our constant work to help people feel comfortable with the vaccine.” Says Stephanie Brady, Exec. Dir., Community Clinic of Southwest Missouri.
Dianna Gurley, Executive Director of Souls Harbor says vaccinations are just one way the community clinic is making her life a lot easier.
“And we can send our clients over there three times a week to get shots, in the mean time, if there’s somebody we want to check in that is refusing to get a shot at this point, they can still go over there and get a rapid test and come right back, it’s a perfect plan, they’re two blocks away, we don’t have a problem with transportation and it’s it’s been a wonderful service, and we know in about 15 minutes whether or not we can let you in or not.” Says Gurley.
“We’ve been actively giving the COVID vaccines since February, uh we’ve had a little bit of a slump for a while when ever things were looking good for a little while, and then when ever Delta variant really started going un we’ve increased significantly over the last few weeks.” Says Brady.
“Yeah, we have a constant turnover of new people so there’s the constant do they have their vaccine, have they been tested, are we sure that they’re negative of COVID, so that’s a constant, a constant worry of us all the time.” Says Gurley.
If you’d like more information on the vaccines or want to get one, check out the link below.
https://www.facebook.com/JoplinCommunityClinic