Seniors at one of the COVID-19 vaccination spots in Broward County are grateful to be getting their shot today.
“I’m so excited. This is a good day,” said Rhonda DiCarlo.
“I thought it was a great thing. It’s close to home. Gotta get it done,” said Anthony Peavy.
Collins Community Center in Oakland Park opened on January 9th, where over 1,000 seniors have received their shots. 72 shots are given out daily.
“[It’s] the ones that can’t get online or don’t have the resources to get there, that need support. So we took it upon ourselves to make those outbound calls with the list that we have. We only got 54 vaccines to start and then that’s increased overtime because that we were able to prove that we had an efficient system,” said Oakland Park Mayor Jane Bolin.
Bolin says that because their goal is to help the most vulnerable seniors that have limited resources, they’ve reached out to organizations like Meals on Wheels South Florida to help spread the word.
“That’s part of the collaboration with Meals on Wheels. So one, getting the information to those seniors so they’re aware that there is opportunity and two, getting them to call us at the hotline so we can make the arrangements necessary. If someone is a homebound we can certainly help them get to the facility for the first and second shot,” said Bolin.
“It was really amazing that the City of Oakland Park stepped up when they knew they could get their hands on the vaccine and thought about our clients,” said Mark Adler, Executive Director of Meals on Wheels South Florida.
Seniors 65 or older must make an appointment before showing up. Seniors say the entire process from signing up to getting the vaccine, was easy.
“To come in and see all the people that are working, like the Fire Department, it made me feel so comfortable. It was perfect,” said Rhonda.
“It was so organized. I’m very impressed. I was a little leery myself coming to a community center I didn’t what kind of professionals would be here but I urge everyone to come down and if they have the opportunity and get vaccinated. Let’s end this,” said Mark Gangi.
Collins Community Center is located at 3900 NE 3rd Avenue. To make an appointment to get your vaccine, call 954-630-4335.
For more information on Meals on Wheels South Florida, click here.
