Bridgeport clinic gets Moderna vaccine
BRIDGEPORT — When
400 doses of Moderna’s
COVID-19 vaccine arrived at Southwest Community Health Center on Wednesday, the mood was one of “jubilation,” said Southwest President and CEO Mollie Melbourne.
“It was so joyous,” she said. “It felt like we were truly watching the beginning of the end.”
Southwest follows hospitals, nursing homes and some other health care providers in the region in receiving the vaccine. The agency, a network of clinics throughout Bridgeport that provides affordable health services for those who are uninsured or underinsured, never received the Pfizer vaccine, so Melbourne said Wednesday’s shipment was truly special.
“It’s been a long nine months and our staff has been under very high pressure,” she said.
Front-line workers will receive their doses first, and the first 10 doses were given on Wednesday. The rest of the Southwest’s 260 employees will receive the vaccine over the next few days, and then, Melbourne said, any unused vaccine will be used to vaccinate workers at other health care organizations that qualify.
Though Southwest is headquartered at 46 Albion St., Melbourne said vaccines are being given at its dental clinic on Fairfield Avenue, which was shut down early in the pandemic as the demand for non-emergency dental services plummeted.
“It’s been vacant since March, so we felt this was the best place to do it,” Melbourne said.
Those who have received the vaccine so far said they have been deeply relieved and happy, said Carmen Rivera-Torres, Southwest’s chief nursing officer.
“I wish we could have a party here to celebrate,” she said.
“It feels like that,” Melbourne added. “It feels like a party.”