Three COVID-19 vaccine clinics were put into operation last Sunday, providing vaccination opportunities for the entire city.

By Fernando Cervantes Jr.

On Sunday, July 11, the Somerville Vaccine Day was held in three churches around the city.

Organized by the Somerville Health and Human Services Department and the Cambridge Health Alliance, the Vaccine Day looked to reach many immigrant communities which have largely not yet received the vaccine.

According to Director of Health and Human Services for Somerville Doug Kress, events like this aim to make COVID-19 vaccinations more accessible for Somerville residents.

“Today what we are doing is that we are trying to continue to get people vaccinated here in Somerville. We have realized that there are some who have been having challenges getting to sites. It just hasn’t fit into their schedules. We want to make sure that everybody has the opportunity to get vaccinated,” Kress said.

Furthermore, Jamila Xible, Director of Health Education and Access at Cambridge Health Alliance, spoke about the importance of vaccination for non-English speakers in Somerville.

“This is the type of disease that we cannot leave anybody behind, because if one of us is not safe, we’re all not safe,” Xible said.

Xible also spoke on the different struggles the Cambridge Health Alliance has faced trying to get people vaccinated, especially the lack of confidence in vaccines.

“In the beginning, everybody that was eager to get vaccinated, everybody who had access to the vaccines, the easy part is done. Now we’re coming to folks that sometimes don’t trust the vaccine. Building that trust is a very important thing,” Xible said.

In addition, Kress talked about the importance of getting the public vaccinated at this stage in the pandemic.

“We all do better when we do better. That means that if we all get vaccinated we can slow the spread of this virus and we can get back to more normalcy,” Kress said.

This same spirit was shared by people vaccinated at the sites. One of the people vaccinated in Sunday’s event, Jesse LeFebvre, expressed his reaction to receiving his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

“I’m excited at the freedom that is coming with having the vaccine,” LeFebvre said.