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When Covid-19 vaccines became available, we at Good Shepherd Church felt the same hope and relief that everyone did that the end of the pandemic was at hand. It soon became clear, however, that vaccine availability was going to be a problem. In fact, eligibility rules and the necessity of recording personal information of those vaccinated for the purpose of maintaining proper public health records meant that significant portions of our community were in jeopardy of being closed out of vaccination programs.

While serving members of our community at the Food Pantry, Pastor Juan Carlos Ruiz,discovered that immigrants and the undocumented were often hesitant to seek vaccination. They felt uncomfortable at mass vaccination sites and were fearful of being detained or deported. Consequently, Pastor Ruiz arranged with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to host temporary pop-up vaccination clinics at Good Shepherd Church.

There have been four such clinics at Good Shepherd, two in March 2021 and one each in April and May, 2021, and we plan on hosting additional clinics until such time that everyone in our community who want or needs a vaccination has one.

Please enjoy the photos below of our past clinics and view the BBS World News America interview with Pastor Ruiz.

If you are interested in visiting one of our clinics, or know someone who is, please Contact us for more information. We will announce the schedules for future clinics here and via our Newsletter.

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