“I’m looking for a brighter future… hopefully a light at the end of the tunnel,” says Compton resident Vincente. He has reason to hope—after a long year that saw the death of two of his close friends from COVID-19, he’s now been vaccinated at one of MLK Community Healthcare’s mobile clinics.
The Population Health team at MLKCH, along with a team of volunteers, nurses, and pharmacists, has deployed three mobile teams across South LA with weekly vaccination pop-up clinics, driven by where the need is highest.
“We map out in our community where were the areas that were hardest hit,” says Dr. Jorge Reyno, VP of Population Health at MLKCH. “We’re at Jordan Downs today, we’ll be at Superior Grocers in Watts. We’ll be in the northern Hawthorne area, a couple of churches—those areas remain at risk.”
Many community members are essential workers, who are exposed daily to the threat of infection while on the job. Others are seniors, who’ve found it difficult to navigate online appointment systems but face the greatest risk from infection. Mobile clinics have allowed them all to easily access vaccines in their own neighborhoods.
Says Dr. Reyno, “That’s why we’re out here, essentially making it as easy and convenient as possible for people to get the vaccine in our community.”