Community organizations have been working together to ensure fair and equitable access to vaccines. Girls Inc.’s vaccine clinics in North Omaha are leading the cause and making an impact on vaccination availability.
Girls Inc. has been hosting vaccine drives at their location near 45th and Maple Sts. The drive is led by Dr. Andrea Jones and her team ,and will continue on Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 2-6 p.m. through May 16.
“We serve the girls and their families as well as the local North Omaha area here.” said Jones. “Also I recently started on the Douglas County Board of Health, so we have been partnering together to make this happen.”
Dr. Jones called on UNMC and Nebraska medicine to find volunteers for their clinics that are held at Girls Inc. They also found Girls inc. staff like Lisa Goetzdiner, who has been working with the program for over 25 years.
“Our first hour today we had over 188 people receive their vaccines. The outreach has been tremendous,” said Goetzdiner.
The clinic hopes to fill the gaps in availability for those who don’t have access or transportation to other locations in West Omaha.
Those who want to sign up, especially those who live in the North Omaha area, can register using this link. People can also get involved by reaching out to Girls Inc. and volunteering to help with the clinics operations.
Currently few vaccination sites are available in North Omaha. Signs and banners have been placed down 45th St. so more people can get the vaccine and the area can sooner return to normalcy.
Though Girls Inc. and Douglas County Health Department have made strides in vaccinations, one clinic is not enough to vaccinate North Omaha, and similar clinics could pop up as age requirements are lowered.
