Sisters, VCHD team up for mobile vaccine clinic

The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, have paired up with the Vigo County Health Department (VCHD) to conduct a Mobile COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic in West Terre Haute.

The mobile clinic will take place from 9 a.m.-noon on Thursday, October 7, at the Providence Food Pantry, 701 W. National Ave., West Terre Haute. The mobile unit from VCHD will be parked in front of the food pantry and no appointment is necessary.

VCHD Co-Coordinator of the Vigo County COVID-19 Grant Anne Stamper said that with the recent increase of COVID-positive residents within the county, the mobile clinics have become necessary.

“Our vaccination numbers are really low,” Stamper said, “and I think that is due to several reasons. If part of this is access at all, we want to go out to the community and offer these vaccines.”

Stamper said the vaccines to be offered will include Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer-BioNTech. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is only one dose for residents 18-older, while the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is two doses for residents 12-older. All minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Stamper added the demand for vaccines was high when they were offered to the public earlier this year. However, the numbers of residents wanting to receive the vaccine has dropped dramatically in recent months as the Delta variant of the virus grips the nation.

“It seemed like through the middle of April, we were doing around 300 daily,” Stamper said. “Then, the numbers just started dropping off throughout the summer. We’ve seen a gradual increase since the beginning of August, though.”

Stamper reiterated that the Delta variant of the virus is now responsible for more than 90 percent of cases nationwide and it has been proven to be more contagious than previous variants. For example, numbers across Indiana have started increasing as have hospitalizations.

“These are numbers we haven’t seen in Indiana since leading up to maybe October or November of 2020 and they are increasing rapidly,” Stamper said. “The best protection against the Delta variant is vaccination.”

She added the Health Department hopes to reach out to people in need within the community as well as those who have yet to receive the vaccine.

“We’ve been trying to get this information out to the public,” she commented. “We’re reaching out to underserved groups and minorities. We’re hopeful that we’ll get more people than we anticipate.”

The Sisters of Providence urge all people eligible for vaccination to attend any of the VCHD mobile clinics.

For more information, visit the VCHD website.