One community is coming together to make sure all residents get vaccinated

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Saturday, May 8, 2021
One community is coming together to make sure all residents get vaccinated
Lance Toma, CEO, San Francisco Community Health Center is working to take care of the community in the Tenderloin District.

San Francisco Community Health Center (SFCHC) reached a milestone. They recently provided their first, second dose of Moderna.

It was important to collaborate with different organizations like San Francisco Department of Public Health, UCSF, Glide and Dignity Health. They were able to build a an area in the Tenderloin for these agencies to educate about vaccinations.

According to Lance Toma, CEO, SFCHC, their "mission is to transform lives by advancing health, wellness, and equality. We believe everyone deserves access to the highest quality healthcare possible. We pivoted immediately when San Francisco was hit with COVID-19. Our services stayed open, and we deployed more of our team out into the streets of the Tenderloin."

Vaccine champions reach out to residents about the positive impacts of getting vaccinated.

Alisson Sombredero, MD, AAHIVS, Chief Medical Officer, SFCHC, states, "One of the big tools, resources we have are definitely those vaccination ambassadors or community ambassadors. It is about having those people who are from the community, they have been vaccinated, and they can speak from their perspective."

Asia Cereola received her vaccination through the Center's efforts and says, "I just want to say thank you, San Francisco Community Health Center, for giving me this vaccine. It's been very, very helpful and saved my life."

Learn more about the San Francisco Community Health Center here.