A San Francisco church is offering residents with single-shot coronavirus vaccinations amid difficulties of maintaining and supporting the congregation.
“We’re feeding people. We tested people for COVID-19. And now, thank God, we’re able to provide vaccinations,” Senior Pastor Dr. Amos C. Brown said.
Church Vaccination Site
The establishment is offering the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines, which only require one shot as opposed to others such as Moderna and Pfizer which require two separate shots. The processes attracted residents who had difficulties fitting their schedules for two separate doses.
“But, really, this is a community effort. If we’re really, really, really going to come back to normalcy, this is important. And so, I finally talked to myself, along with other friends. I said, go and get the vaccine. That’s being a good neighbor,” resident Shunda Criswell said.
And while Shunda was not a regular attendee of the church, she and others preferred to enter the religious establishment to get their vaccinations.
“They have the option to go to other places but they choose to come to a church. They choose to come to a faith community, they choose to be around people that look like them. And it just sort of helps in that experience,” University of California, San Francisco Medical Sociologist and church member Dr. Jonathan Butler said.
“Even if you don’t go to church every Sunday, people know the experience they’re going to have when they come here for their vaccinations. So, we’re really excited to be a part of that,” UCSF Black Health Initiative founder Dr. Malcolm John said.
California officials recently announced the prioritization of people of color in the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines, as well as underserved communities. Additionally, having people in those areas vaccinated decreases the rate of infection and brings counties closer to moving into less restrictive tiers.
“I think the real need right now is to get these vaccines into the neighborhoods that really need it, in a way that makes it easy for people to get access to these vaccines. That’s the key,” Dr. John said, CBS Local reported.
The church’s vaccination clinic coordinated with the UCSF’s Black Health Initiative and the San Francisco African American Faith-Based Coalition to administer the vaccines.
