With the Covid-19 resurgence, increased strain once again falls on the healthcare system. But a huge piece of the solution is the idea of community. The Covid-19 clinics and testing centers capitalize on community, bringing accessibility and reliability.
As healthcare workers deal with the increased caseload, pop-up clinics and Covid testing centers quickly became more visible -- and busy. One such clinic last November was held in the Eaglecrest cafeteria on the same day as the Eaglecrest-hosted craft fair, a happy accident allowing for greater traffic between both. Another was held in January, and the next clinic at Eaglecrest will be February 12th. Walk-ins are encouraged, and second doses and booster shots will be available for adults and kids alike at the clinic.
Partnered with local ERs and local venues like high schools, Stride Community Health Center -- one of CCSD’s community partners -- helps to make these pop-up clinics possible. Fill out a short online questionnaire and vaccine-hopefuls are ready for action. The clinics can administer as many vaccines as their supply allows them, and the November clinic, even before Omicron, easily drew a line of people snaking through the cafeteria entrance.
“I think [the pop-up clinics] are really convenient,” said EMT Marie McConville, a volunteer at the clinic. “I think a lot of people have a hard time accessing the medical system in general, so making it more accessible and bringing it into people's communities makes it a lot easier for people and makes it so they don't have to make a separate doctor's appointment.” Accessibility, a recurring issue, once again reared its head throughout the pandemic. Perhaps money cannot buy happiness, but it sure can buy health and safety.
“The easier we make it for people to have this available to them, the more likely they are to come out and do it,” said fellow EMT Andrew Hibbitt.
“Everyone needs something in their neighborhood and in their community as a resource. Everyone in this area -- everyone that knows about it, that either has an affiliation with the school or lives in the area -- it can make it easy for them and it's more likely they're going to come out and get the vaccine.” Indeed, bringing the option for vaccination to more accessible places in the community -- of which Eaglecrest is one -- can significantly reduce issues of transportation, time, and money. For many, having Covid vaccination clinics can thus be a relief. Yet for others, no matter the accessibility, the safety of the vaccine remains a concern.
“My husband is a scientist and so he was able to give some background on how this new vaccine how it's actually even different than a flu vaccine and what it does to our body,” said social studies teacher Heather Nelsen. “People talk about hesitation and how [the vaccine] was going to recreate or mess with our RNA and it actually shows that the vaccination -- how it was created what it does to our body -- is less harmful than what other vaccinations have done.” For Nelsen, the science behind the vaccine was reassuring. Yet it became even more reassuring when she herself caught Covid.
“I really do I feel very strongly because I ended up catching COVID after being vaccinated and boosted and my symptoms were lesser because I was vaccinated,” said Nelsen.
She was confident that without the vaccine, she would have had a significantly worse experience. Proctor acknowledges this as well, with a similar outlook.
“We knew there would be side effects,” said Proctor. “But all of the serious side effects that everyone is worried about, my wife always talks about how minimal they are,” said Proctor. “So, sometimes people worry when maybe they shouldn't.” Arguably, this very reason is what makes community clinics more crucial. Vaccines, based on tests and trials and studies, reduce symptoms for nearly everyone. This means that the more people are vaccinated, the less time people spend being sick, which is a bonus socially, economically, and, of course, personally.
“It's easy work, and it's also a super important service for the community,” said McConville.
She herself was hopeful about getting a booster shot at the clinic. Allowing greater access to vaccines and boosters serves yet another purpose, however. For many, these clinics provide a reprieve from the near-constant anxiety present since the start of the pandemic. Anxiety stemming from catching Covid-19, from not being able to protect oneself from the virus, or simply from not being able to return to “normal” are all entirely valid and extremely prevalent.
COVIDCheck Colorado, the organization sponsoring many of the testing centers across Colorado -- including the center in the parking lot of the ISF building next to Thunder Ridge Middle -- emphasizes the proactive and accessibility components of Covid-19 solutions. “Through free, fast, and reliable testing services, COVIDCheck Colorado enables the most proactive and equitable response to COVID-19 in the country,” reads their website. Anyone wanting to get an official PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test, which remains the most reliable test as results are reviewed by clinical professionals, need only book an appointment ahead of time through COVIDCheck Colorado’s straightforward registration process.
Naturally, there remain a myriad of concerns regarding the vaccine, however. One such concern is the speed with which it became available. Even Nelsen admits that to her, it was crazy how quickly the vaccine came out. But when considering the resources poured into the effort, the timeline makes much more sense, and Nelsen reassures that all the proper hoops -- and the FDA has a plethora of hoops -- were jumped through. However, simply because of the accelerated timeline, there are undoubtedly more studies that can be done.
“They did case studies, but they wanted to get the vaccine out quickly and so we have less data to look at than normal vaccine would be,” said Nelsen. “But I just think that when you weigh the benefits of that, I was happy they were able to get it out as quickly as they did.” To her, the vaccine was worth it. And through clinics and testing centers, the spread of the vaccine is only growing, working to contend with the spread of Covid and bring the crucial factor of accessibility to the community.