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Berrien Co. Health Dept. Receives Delayed Vaccine Shipment, Works To Distribute Vaccine Equitably

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Berrien County health officials say they’re working to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine equitably throughout the county.

At the county's COVID-19 update on Thursday, County Health Officer Nicki Britten said both the health department and Spectrum Health Lakeland are working to form partnerships that will help get the vaccine to underserved populations.

 

“Whether it’s a senior center or a church or housing communities, we’re really trying to make sure that we can get the vaccine to where people are," she said. "Because not everybody can come to where the vaccine is.”

 

Britten said health officials are working to organize pop-up clinics in communities without reliable internet or transportation access, as well as ways to vaccinate homebound individuals.

 

Earlier this week, the health department had to postpone vaccine appointments due to a delayed shipment from the state following the recent winter storm. Appointments scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 23 were rescheduled for Monday, March 1.

 

Health department spokesperson Gillian Conrad says the department received the delayed shipment Tuesday evening, and has enough vaccine to cover both the postponed appointments and clinics for the rest of this week.

 

"While it was frustrating to have to postpone Tuesday's clinic, we are happy to have received the shipment and know that we were able to get right back on track with distributioon of the vaccine in our community," Conrad wrote in an email.

 

Contact Gemma atgdicarlo@wvpe.orgor follow her on Twitter at@gemma_dicarlo.

 

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Gemma DiCarlo came to Indiana by way of Athens, Georgia. She graduated from the University of Georgia in 2020 with a degree in Journalism and certificates in New Media and Sustainability. She has radio experience from her time as associate producer of Athens News Matters, the flagship public affairs program at WUGA-FM.
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