South SF pastor contacts ABC7 News about hosting mobile vaccination clinic, possible partnership

Tuesday, March 9, 2021
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KGO) -- A Peninsula church is taking action to help bring a pop-up vaccination site to their parish. The pastor says he was inspired after seeing a story on ABC7 News about a similar clinic in the East Bay providing shots to an underserved community.

"I feel like it's the responsibility of church to step up," said Pastor Bearett Wolverton.

Wolverton is pastor at Grace Covenant Church in South San Francisco, and he's on a mission to host a drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination site on the grounds of his parish.

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"We want to give as much to our community and make connections, serve the population that are underserved," said Wolverton.

Wolverton says he got inspired after seeing our story on March 7 about a mobile vaccination clinic at a Hayward Church, helping to build trust in getting the shot.

"This site will bring people out, people who otherwise would not go to the big centers," said Bishop Jerry Macklin at Grace Covenant Church.

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Pastor Wolverton later tweeted to ABC7's Cornell Barnard, "I pastor a church in South San Francisco. We could accommodate a drive thru in our parking lot. How can we help?"

We connected the pastor with San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa. He likes the idea of a mobile vaccination clinic at Grace Covenent. In fact, during Tuesday's board meeting officials discussed building future partnerships with houses of worship.

"If we're able to use our faith based-community to narrow or eliminate the equity gap, this could be something that's an absolute game changer," said Canepa.

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Grace Covenant Church is no stranger to helping the community, as once a month, a thousand cars line up on the street. The church parking lot becomes a drive-thru food giveaway site for families in need. The pastor hopes the same space can be used to provide vaccinations.

"We feel as a church, we can be a beacon of light to give hope," said Wolverton.

Supervisor Canepa tells the pastor that he'll be in touch.
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