Equivax helps Thousands get COVID-19 Vaccine in Sacramento, California

USPA NEWS - Many organizations are cropping up to help bridge the chasm between the neediest vaccine recipients in society and the establishments that can provide “˜shots-in-arms´ for them.

One such Californian organization is Equivax. You can tell from the name the mission is to try to provide an equalization for vaccinations between different demographics.

As their web site says, "Equivax was created from a collaboration between Sacramento County, regional leaders, and community-based organizations in historically under-resourced areas. Medical oversight is provided by Urgent Care Now and Dr. Rusty Oshita, MD. We are also a movement “” a united group of volunteers eager to change the demographics of vaccination in the Sacramento area."

Vaccine supply is still limited throughout the world. Locally in California, there are currently hundreds of thousands of people eligible for vaccination and it is expected to take months to vaccinate all eligible individuals in Sacramento County in California, for example.

Equifax Mission

Equivax is a free platform that was actually created by volunteers to support the local communities in and around the Sacramento area, the capital of the State of California in the USA.

Equivax are opening what are called “˜pop-up´ clinics at various places, and advertising through their often charity-based partners to the most deserving of the community. In the areas of Del Paso Heights, Oak Knoll and Johnson Heights, for example, their volunteers administered over 1000 Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines. In another example in South Sacrament in the middle of March, “The Pannell Center hosted its second pop-up vaccination clinic on short notice and welcomed nearly 570 members of the community thanks to the availability of Pfizer vaccine from Sacramento County. And once again, the clinic increased the vaccination rate in Sacramento's most vulnerable zip code.“, according to the Equivax press release.

It supports easy reporting and notification of vaccination services, and, most importantly, allows more equitable access to vaccines, especially to the underprivileged.

My on-site reporting

I had the privilege to visit The Roberson Community Center, which is one of the Equivax organized “˜pop-up´ clinics, at the end of March to view first-hand what was going on.

I was immediately impressed with the efficiency of the organization and management of the event. Folks were in the car park directing, other volunteers handing out pre-registration forms, then they checked your “˜booking´ (which was provided as online access via the charitable organizations). If you had health Insurance, fine, but no matter if you didn´t, you´d still get your shot. Then attendees got in line for maybe 5 minutes max, then directed to sit in a row of seats and, after a quick check of the paperwork, all seven in the row were administered a (somewhat painless from the conversations I had) vaccinations by volunteers. After getting the shot those vaccinated had to sit down and wait 15 minutes to see if there were any adverse reactions to the shot. I saw none in the 100 or so folks I saw. Attendees were given their COVID-19 Vaccination Record medical cards and told to come back for their second booster shots in April.

WHAT´S NEXT?

The organization can´t do its job without volunteers. One of the volunteers administering vaccines told me she was a retired nurse, and just wanted to make a difference. You can too. Go to the link and sign up if you´re in the Sacramento area. If that´s not viable, check out your local volunteer organizations. You don´t have to be a medical person for jobs that don´t involve administering “˜shots-in-arms´, as they will need marshals, people giving directions, check in folks, computer and laptop check-in people and general “˜runners´.