Washington, DC : Today, Mary’s Center will begin administering the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. The Center is one of four community health centers in the District of Columbia that received the first shipment of vaccines and is authorized to provide it.
As dictated by local health departments, Mary’s Center will first vaccinate its frontline staff, as well as other frontline workers in the DC metropolitan area so that they stay healthy and can continue to serve the region.
“We are grateful for being part of DC Health’s first vaccine distribution in the District, which provides our staff with an initial sense of hope and recovery from this devastating pandemic,” says Maria Gomez, President and CEO. “While we move forward with our vaccination plan, we urge the government to increase the number of vaccines provided to health centers to create a tangible positive impact in the region.”
Since March, when COVID-19 was first detected in the DC area, Mary’s Center has been on the front lines, and to date it has performed close to 10,000 assessments and over 6,000 tests. Mary’s Center has also seen the highest number of pregnant Latinx patients with the virus.
“We serve a large population of the communities most affected and most at risk of exposure to COVID-19 due to their working and living conditions,” says Dr. Tollie Elliott, Chief Medical Officer. “Unfortunately, the numbers continue to grow and as we are excited for our first shipment, we look forward to receiving additional vaccines in 2021 to support our community members.”
Vaccination for staff and other frontline workers in the region will continue as more shipments arrive, and it will expand to the community as more vaccines become available.
