Walmart and Camino Collaborate To Administer COVID-19 Vaccinations
by Jaedyn Guthrie
Camino has been making history! We plan to distribute 2,400 COVID-19 vaccines in collaboration with Walmart. We are an organization that strives to help community members live healthy, hopeful, and productive lives. We are honored to support the Latino community in moving forward from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Research conducted on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Latino community is what inspired us to begin administering vaccines on our campus. Dr. Keri Revens, Director of Research and Evaluation here at Camino, led that study. The study evaluated the physical and mental health of our constituents since quarantine began. The qualitative and quantitative data from this study helped craft solutions for the community members affected. Moreover, the trust that Camino has established within the community has allowed us to become a resource. We started with COVID-19 testing and now we’ve been collaborating with other organizations to administer vaccines.
We are proud of our Research and Evaluation team for legitimizing the trust that Camino has worked so passionately to build. We are also proud of our internal liaisons who were able to connect with Walmart and help make the vaccine more accessible to those in need. This is the sixth vaccination event Camino has done, and we seek for this one to be the most impactful. Our goal is to administer 240 vaccines per day. We will distribute the vaccine on our campus until May 28th (weekdays only,) between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m.
It is important to emphasize the need for bilingual medical care in our communities. Many of our constituents struggle to express/understand their healthcare needs in English. It is rare that facilities can consistently provide fully bilingual services to their patients. Those that do provide these services may not have earned the trust of the community the way Camino has. It was especially important to Walmart that this level of bilingual care could be delivered through an organization that places community trust and cultural competency at the forefront of their vision.
With our clinic being a fully bilingual resource, we are excited to expand our services and hope to do even more in the future!