A typical local church based walk-up COVID19 vaccination clinic. The latest such vaccination site will be Ezekiel Baptist Church at 58th and Grays Ave tomorrow, Saturday, May 15th from 10am to 2pm. (Phila. Inquirer photo)
Free COVID-19 injections: 10am -2pm at Ezekiel Baptist Church
By Ted Behr
Photo: A typical local church based walk-up COVID19 vaccination clinic. The latest such vaccination site will be Ezekiel Baptist Church at 58th and Grays Ave tomorrow, Saturday, May 15th from 10am to 2pm. (Phila. Inquirer photo)
Open Vaccination in SW – May 15
The Family Practice and Counselling Network (FPCN) will hold a free, open COVID vaccination clinic on Saturday, May 15 from 10am -2pm at Ezekiel Baptist Church in SW Philly. This will be a walk-up vaccination for adults 18 and older and they will be using the Moderna vaccine.
According to host Rev. Brian D. King, Sr., “I believe that the vaccines is a gift from God that will let us get back to some kind of normalcy, not just for worship, but all those activities that are part of our family life. Having the vaccination right here in our neighborhood is a big advantage. It’s a chance for all of us to do some good for the entire community.”
The Ezekiel Baptist Church is located at 5701 Grays Avenue at the corner of 58th Street. Plenty of free parking in the church lot is available; the church can be reached by a short walk west on 58th Street from the SEPTA trolly #38 stop on Elmwood and 58th.
FPCH is also the Federally Qualified Health Center with the highest vaccine administration rate, now exceeding 10000 vaccine injections!
Vaccination reports from the city health department indicate that over 50 percent of Philadelphians have been vaccinated, but a much lower rate of minorities have received protection. Without a rapid increase in vaccinations in Blacks and Latinx neighborhoods, public health doctors feel the city will not reach the “herd immunity” target of 80 percent.
Some of the factors include lack of access to healthcare and transportation to the mass vaccination clinics. Many residents have been reluctant to be vaccinated because of distrust of government medical programs in general. But another sad factor is the amount of disinformation being circulated – much of it on social media – which mistakenly reports that the present vaccines are not safe, or are ineffective effective and have high rates of side effects – none of which are true..
Specific details regarding the city of Philadelphia’s vaccination distribution plan, including vaccination categories, can be found on the city’s website: www.phila.gov For independent, reliable, and up-to-date information on the COVID19 virus, vaccines, and effects, visit:
The Family Practice and Counseling Network is a nurse-managed provider of primary, prenatal care, and dental care and family planning services, outreach, and advocacy and a division of Resources for Human Development. Its center in Southwest Philadelphia is the Health Annex in the Woodland Plaza Shopping Center at Woodland Avenue and 61st Street.
(The information for this article was graciously provided by Willa Clinton Joynes of Resources for Human Development, Inc., Philadelphia. web: www.rhd.org)
