CAMDEN, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — A door-to-door COVID-19 vaccine program is targeting a housing community in Camden in order to reach some of the most challenged residents in the city.
Forty residents living at The Branches at Centerville, an affordable housing complex in Camden, received vaccines on Friday.
This is the second week the Camden County Department of Health, Cooper Hospital and Rutgers School of Nursing has operated the pop-up vaccination clinic, which operates on Fridays on site. Last week, the group vaccinated the first group of 40 residents.
"The goal was to bring the vaccine to populations who are otherwise disenfranchised or disproportionately impacted by COVID-19," Rutgers School of Nursing Associate Dean Kevin Emmons said.
Volunteers knocked on doors throughout the complex to sign up eligible residents for the vaccine.
"Those who can't get to a lot of these megasites -- what do they do? The people who are limited by transportation, who are limited by maybe not having a caregiver nearby, it means they're likely not to get vaccinated," Emmons said.
Next week, about 40 more people in the housing community will get their vaccinations.
"The goal ultimately is to have as many people as possible within those neighborhoods vaccinated," Camden County Commissioner Carmen Rodriguez said.