Mobile vaccine clinic coming to Norwalk
NORWALK — All next week, Norwalk residents will have access to COVID-19 vaccines through a mobile clinic operated by Derby’s Griffin Hospital and the Department of Public Health.
Monday through Friday, vaccination vans will be posted throughout Norwalk, city spokesperson Josh Morgan said Friday.
Two mobile units plan to administer up to 250 vaccines a day, with more than 1,000 vaccines administered during the five-day stay, Morgan said. No appointments are needed for the vaccination vans and walk-ups are welcome.
On Monday and Tuesday, the vans will be at Norwalk Public Library’s main branch on Belden Avenue from 1 to 7 p.m.
and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., respectively.
On Wednesday the clinic will be at the Carver Center on Academy Street from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
On Thursday and Friday, the mobile clinic will be at the SoNo library branch on Washington Street from 1 to 7 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., respectively.
“(Clinic) staff will handle the registration piece and vaccine piece,” Morgan said. “The city is providing the space, the Wi-Fi access and the commitment to reuse the same spaces 28 days from now.”
The mobile clinics will be using the Moderna vaccine Moderna vaccine will be administered at each clinic. The clinics are at no cost to the city and are provided as part of a vaccination initiative by the state Department of Public Health and Griffin Hospital, Morgan said.
The vans will return to the same locations at the same time about a month later to administer the second doses.
As Moderna is not approved for use in minors, the clinics are only open to residents 18 and older. Additionally, the clinics are only offered for Norwalk residents; recipients are asked to bring a photo ID or piece of mail with the patient’s Norwalk address.
Should less than the 250 available doses for each day be used, the clinic staff and volunteers will begin calling names on the city health department’s vaccination cancellation and waitlist, Morgan said.
The main branch and SoNo libraries will be closed during the times the mobile clinic will be stationed at each location, Morgan said.
“It’s striking that balance of accommodating the vaccine but also the library services in demand,” Morgan said. “Staff will be reaching out if appointments conflict and sending out a community newsletter. We think the community is going to understand that we are trying to take down barriers to vaccine access.”
The city’s regularly scheduled clinics, including the weekly vaccination clinic at the Bow Tie movie theater in SoNo will still take place alongside the mobile clinic.
The Griffin Hospital mobile clinic is separate from the Federal Emergency Management Agency mobile vaccination clinic that will be coming to Norwalk for two days in May.