SHERIDAN — Sheridan High School is hosting COVID-19 vaccine clinics throughout July with the goal of bringing resources to residents.
25 people got vaccinated during the first three days of the clinic.
Nearly 70% of Hamilton County residents are vaccinated, making it the second-most vaccinated county in the state. However, only two vaccine sites are north of State Road 32, according to the health department.
“When we break our vaccination numbers down by zip code, we see considerably fewer people getting vaccinated in the northern, more rural area of our county,” says Chris Walker, emergency preparedness coordinator for the Hamilton County Health Department. “We hope the convenience of having a clinic closer to those residents, open during evening and weekend hours, will encourage more families to get vaccinated.”
"We're here. We can always answer questions. We've been able to educate a lot of people and I'm hoping by, with some of these small populations, that people we are talking to are going to reach out to their neighbors, they're going to talk to their family, they're going to talk to their friends," Sarah Leap, a health department public health nurse, said. "Even if they don't end up coming here, hopefully we're generating enough conversation and education that more of the population will seek out the vaccine. They don't have to come here. We just want them to go wherever they can."
A health department spokesperson tells WRTV in an email Thursday and Saturday's turnout were "a little lower than we had hoped for." The health department plans to take lessons from this week into the second week of the clinic.
No registration is required, and walk-ins are welcome and encouraged. The Pfizer vaccine will be given. The clinic will be open:
- July 20 4-8 p.m.
- July 22 4-8 p.m.
- July 24 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Second doses will be scheduled at Sheridan High School the weeks of August 3 and August 10.
