Need a COVID vaccine or test in South Florida? What to know about community health fair
The federal campaign behind the “Let’s Get Vaccinated” and “I Got my COVID-19 vaccine” social media profile frames you’ve seen online is bringing a health fair with vaccines and essential health resources to underserved communities in South Florida this weekend.
People can get COVID-19 vaccines, at-home tests and free health screenings from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Sweet Home Missionary Baptist Church, 10701 SW 184th St. in Cutler Bay, as part of the “Stay Well Community Vaccine Event.”
The event is part of a partnership between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services “We Can Do This” campaign, the W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute (also known as the Cobb Institute) and local community-based groups to make vaccines and other health-related resources accessible to Black communities, which have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Saturday’s event is hosted by the Pi Delta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.
“It is our belief that by utilizing trusted voices, providing relevant data, and making vaccines accessible, community members can feel heard and are better able to make informed decisions about receiving COVID-19 vaccines,” Cobb Institute President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Randall C. Morgan, Jr. said in a statement to the Miami Herald.
The fair will have free drive-thru COVID-19 vaccinations for adults and kids as young as 5. Organizers say they’ll have Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines available so they can vaccinate everyone who is eligible, whether they need their first, second or booster dose.
Free at-home COVID tests and other giveaways will also be available. Organizers say people can also have health screenings for free, including for blood pressure, diabetes and mental health.
The event will also feature a panel discussion on COVID-19, vaccines and emerging variants with Black healthcare professionals. The panel starts at 12:45 p.m. and will be livestreamed on Facebook and other social media platforms.
Panelists include Dr. Todra Anderson-Rhodes, chief medical director at Memorial Hospital Miramar; Dr. Doris Browne, a medical oncologist and former president of the National Medical Association; and South Florida family medicine physicians Dr. John McAdory and Dr. Chandra Jennings. People can submit questions to the doctors through Facebook during the panel.
The fair will be the last in a series of vaccination pop-ups that have occurred in select cities across the country as part of the federal government’s “We Can Do This” public education campaign to encourage vaccinations and end vaccine hesitancy. In Miami-Dade County, about 83.4% of the county’s total population is fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The federal government has used ads, media interviews and a “grassroot network” of organizations, businesses and trusted community leaders, referred to as the “COVID-19 Community Corps” to share information about vaccines throughout the pandemic. The corps has more than 15,000 members including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the NFL, Wounded Warrior Project, GLAAD, Meals on Wheels America, faith-based organizations and various chambers of commerce.
Social media companies including Meta, the parent company of Facebook, also partnered with the campaign to create profile frames people could use to show off their vaccine status and encourage others to get a shot.
“We encourage families seeking additional information to talk to a doctor or healthcare provider to get the facts,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “COVID-19 vaccines are the best way to protect yourself and those you love, and the Biden-Harris administration will continue working every day to get as many people vaccinated and protected from COVID-19 as possible.”
To learn more about the fair, visit staywellcommunityhealthfairs.org.
If you go
What: Stay Well Community Vaccine Event
Where: Sweet Home Missionary Baptist Church, 10701 SW 184th St. in Cutler Bay
When: Saturday, Feb. 26, noon to 4 p.m.
Cost: Free and open to everyone
This story was originally published February 24, 2022 at 11:38 AM.
