Pop-Up Vaccination Site Opens in Harlem Church

Melvin Ingram was the first person to roll up his sleeve and receive the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem. “I have been trying for weeks to get it once my time, my age range, came up but then what I saw that I knew it was meant to be,” he told a television reporter for NY1.

The pop-up vaccination clinic is one of ten to set up inside churches and other faith based organization across the city.

It is a part of an initiative called Choose Healthy Life, which is trying to address health disparities in the African American community by providing education and support through the church. The Choose Healthy Life Black Clergy Action Plan is a group of the nation’s leading Black clergy led by New Yorkers Rev. Al Sharpton of the National Action Network and Rev. Calvin O. Butts, III of Abyssinian Baptist Church. “Following the methods deployed by Debra Fraser-Howze in the 1980s and 1990s, Black religious leaders are now taking the lead in providing testing and critical information to the Black community during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Butts.

“It is critical to address the racial disparities of COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations in the United States,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, “Reaching out through trusted messengers and advocates like the leaders from the Black Church is critically important as we communicate to the hardest-hit communities.”

Other members of the planning group include: Rev. David Jefferson (Metropolitan Baptist Church, Newark, N.J.); Reverend Jacques DeGraff (Canaan Baptist Church of Christ, New York, N.Y.); Rev. Horace Sheffield (New Destiny Christian Fellowship, Detroit, Mich.); Rev. Frank Tucker (First Baptist Church, Washington D.C.); and Rev. Raphael Warnock (Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Ga.).

Pastor Michael Walrond announcing the pop-up vaccination center at his First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem.

Mayor Bill de Blasio was on hand for the first day of vaccination. He said, “This is exactly the kind of place where we need to have a vaccination center because if there’s a vaccination center at First Corinthian, you know people from the community will trust it and believe in it. And we said earlier, this is an example, the famous phrase, if you build it, they will come. Once First Corinthian had a vaccination site, it was immediately filled up.”

“The church is the most trusted institution in the Black community.” said Heaven Berhane, pastor of programming and community engagement at FCBC. “So when folks found out we were going to be a vaccination site folks felt more comfortable coming here because they know this is a trusted institution.”

The site was set-up with the help of the new Executive Director of our City’s Center for Faith and Community Partnerships, Nancy Pascal.

FCBC says their first weekend as a vaccine site was a soft opening. They helped coordinate more than 200 appointments, which they said filled up very quickly.

Mayor Bill de Blasio paid a visit to the site. “People want to get the vaccine more and more. There is more trust starting to build, but there is nothing like the trust that comes from community leaders, community institutions that people know and in their heart believe in,” explained de Blasio.

FCBC says they plan to have more doses available for next weekend and encourage everyone to check their website for information about how to make an appointment.

Other pop-up sites now include (and others are planned):

Brooklyn

Christian Cultural Center,12020 Flatlands Avenue, Brooklyn, NY

First Baptist Church of Crown Heights, 450 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY

United Revival Mennonite Church, 390 Melrose Avenue, Brooklyn, NY

Wayside Baptist Church, 1746 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY

United Revival Mennonite Church, 390 Melrose Avenue, Brooklyn, NY

The Bronx

Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, 1376 Prospect Avenue, Bronx, NY

Greater Eternal Baptist Church, 736 Elton Avenue, Bronx, NY

Harvest Fields Community Church, 2626 E. Tremont Avenue, Bronx, NY

Manhattan

Convent Avenue Baptist Church 420 W 145th St, Manhattan

Upper Room AIDS Ministry/Harlem United’s The Nest Community Health Center
Community Health Center/Clinic, 169 W. 133rd Street, Manhattan