PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A community center in Philadelphia's Chinatown is running a bilingual COVID-19 vaccination clinic to ease concerns from community members. People lined up at the Crane Community Center on Vine Street on Wednesday to get their first of two Pfizer shots.
Community members were able to check in with volunteers and ask questions in English, Spanish, or one of four Chinese dialects.
"The unique thing about our vaccination site is that we have the cultural and language competency. We have four main dialects that we can offer people so they can feel very comfortable getting the vaccine," said John Chin with the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation.
“The city regulations has opened up to food workers, and Chinatown is all about food. And we had quite a few workers come by today who were pre-registered, and now they can go back to work and get their second shot in three weeks and feel like they are safe from the virus."
Max Lan, an 18-year-old college student and grocery store worker, said he was happy to be there so he doesn't have to worry anymore.
"When you have a bunch of people speaking your language, talking to you, being polite, of course you are going to feel way better being here -- especially if you are an immigrant," he said.
"I know my dad has had a little distrust towards Americans because we have been getting attacked. We have been getting harassed. And now we have people who are on our side. They are one of us and they are ones trying to save us."
Approximately 400 people received their vaccinations on Wednesday.