Food & Vaccinations on the Fly
Capitalizing on a food distribution event at a substance abuse recovery organization late last year, the Ohio-based Famicos Foundation held a simultaneous pop-up COVID-19 vaccination clinic to support attendees in getting vaccinated. Famicos partnered with multiple organizations to pull off this hybrid event. While the recovery organization provided the facility, the Cleveland Minority Organ and Tissue Transplant Education Program (MOTTEP, also a CDC Foundation P4VE recipient) brought vaccine educators. Case Western Reserve University supplied the vaccines. As a line formed for food, vaccine educators went through the line informing residents about the day’s pop up clinic and answering questions. With their place in the food line secured by a convenient numbering system, many decided to get vaccinated while they waited. One woman brought her mother who had mobility issues to receive a booster shot. Case Western students gave her the vaccine in her car. Another woman who walked by wanted to receive a booster but did not have her vaccine card with her. Vaccine providers looked her up in the state database, verified the date of her last dose, and vaccinated her on the spot. Another attendee arrived with her cousin who was hesitant and scared of needles. “Don’t worry, I’ll hold your hand,” offered a vaccine ambassador, and the attendee received her first COVID-19 vaccine.