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Pop-Up Covid Vaccination Site Opens in Syracuse Pop-Up Covid Vaccination Site Opens in Syracuse

By Ryan Bothmann

BRENDAN SCANLAND: POP-UP VACCINATION SITES ARE ADMINISTERING COVID-19 VACCINES ACROSS THE STATE AS PART OF GOVERNOR CUOMO’S EFFORT TO GET SEVEN OUT OF EVERY TEN NEW YORKERS VACCINATED. N-C-C NEWS REPORTER, RYAN BOTHMANN, IS LIVE AT ASSUMPTION CHURCH, WHICH IS SERVING AS ONE OF THOSE POP-UP SITES, RYAN.

RYAN BOTHMANN: THE FIRST OF THOSE VACCINATION SITES TOOK PLACE BEHIND ME HERE AT ASSUMPTION CHURCH IN SYRACUSE. GOVERNOR CUOMO ANNOUNCED 11 NEW POP-UP VACCINATION SITES AROUND THE STATE OF NEW YORK, IN AREAS WHERE ZIP CODE DATA SHOWS THAT THE VACCINATION RATE IS SIGNIFICANTLY UNDER THE STATE AVERAGE.

BOTHMANN: FROM TEN TO TWO TODAY, SYRACUSE RESIDENTS CAME TO ASSUMPTION CHURCH WHERE THEY WERE ABLE TO RECEIVE THE ONE SHOT JOHNSON AND JOHNSON COVID VACCINE. THE AREA WAS CHOSEN BY THE STATE DUE TO LOW VACCINATION RATES IN THE AREA. FRIAR RICK RICCIOLI SAYS A CALL FROM THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE ASKING IF THEY WOULD HOST THE CLINIC CAME OUT OF THE BLUE ONE DAY.

RICK RICCIOLI: People are undervaccinated in this area. Would we be willing to be part of the pop-up clinics? So I said sure, anything we can do to assist would be our honor and our privilege.

BOTHMANN: WHILE THE VACCINE IS NOW WIDELY AVAILABLE, THE POP-UP CLINIC MAKES IT EVEN MORE ACCESSIBLE, ESPECIALLY FOR PEOPLE WHO DO NOT HAVE EASY ACCESS TO TRANSPORTATION.

RICCIOLI: A lot of our neighbors that we assist at our soup kitchen and food pantry don’t have transporation quite as readily, and so making it accessible in the neighborhood where they are is an important thing.

BOTHMANN: WHILE RICCIOLI EMPHASIZED THE MAIN INCENTIVE TO COME OUT TODAY AND GET VACCINATED IS FOR INDIVIDUAL HEALTH AND THE HEALTH OF OUR NEIGHBORS, THERE WERE ALSO SNACKS AND WATER AVAILABLE, AS WELL AS A RAFFLE EVERY HOUR FOR A ONE-HUNDRED DOLLAR VISA CREDIT CARD. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THOUGH, IS PUTTING AN END TO THE PANDEMIC.

RICCIOLI: It’s about ending this pandemic, and from a Christian perspective, morally, it’s a moral imperative to get vaccinated. Certainly we have our own preferences and our own rights, and there may be situations, but ultimately it’s about putting our neighbors first and caring for them.

BOTHMANN: WHILE THIS IS THE ONLY POP-UP VACCINATION CLINIC THAT WILL TAKE PLACE IN SYRACUSE, OTHERS AROUND THE STATE OF NEW YORK WILL TAKE PLACE UNTIL JUNE 12. REPORTING LIVE IN SYRACUSE, RYAN BOTHMANN, N-C-C NEWS.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — To combat low vaccination rates throughout the state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced 11 new pop-up vaccination sites will open in areas around New York where there are vaccination rates that are significantly lower than the state average. The vaccination sites are designed to create easier access to vaccines and to help meet the goal of having 70 percent of the state vaccinated. This goal also falls in line with President Biden’s goal of having 70 percent of the country vaccinated by the July 4.

In Syracuse, the first of those vaccination sites took place Wednesday at Assumption Church from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Friar Rick Riccioli, the pastor at Assumption, emphasized that they wanted to do anything they could to help and said the opportunity to host the pop-up clinic was “our honor and our privilege.”

While vaccines are readily available in many areas, the pop-up clinic provides an opportunity for more people to get vaccinated who may not be able to access transportation as easily.

“A lot of our neighbors that we assist at our soup kitchen and food pantry don’t have transportation quite as readily, and so making it accessible in the neighborhood where they are is an important thing,” said Riccioli. Having the ability to get the vaccine right in your own neighborhood gives people without those means of transportation an opportunity to more easily get the vaccine.

 

a building
Assumption Church
© 2021 Ryan Bothmann

While the main reason for anyone to come out was to get vaccinated, there were also some other incentives. Snacks and water were offered throughout the day, and every hour a raffle took place for a $100 Visa credit card. Riccioli noted though that the main incentive was “ultimately about putting our neighbors first and caring for them.”

“It’s about ending this pandemic, and from a Christian perspective, morally, it’s a moral imperative to get vaccinated,” said Riccioli.

This was the first and only pop-up clinic of the 11 that will be held in the Syracuse area. The other 10 will take place throughout the state of New York until June 12, as other areas will low vaccination rates will try to help New York push closer to their goal of having 70 percent of the population vaccinated. Cuomo believes that with the help of the pop-up clinics this goal could be reached as early as next week.

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