Pop-Up Vaccine Clinic In South Sacramento Expands Access, But Only For A Day

Cecilia Laui woke up early on Friday to make it to South Sacramento’s first vaccine pop-up site at the Pannell Community Center in Meadowview. 

The personal health aide who lives with nine other family members in a multi-generational household was first in the line of hundreds of residents waiting for a vaccine. Laui said she’s excited to be getting vaccinated and that she’ll be the first person in her household to receive the shot. 

“I’m the first one!” said Laui, who is in her 60s. “So proud, so happy, I can let them know, I’m so excited.” 

She said she had cut back on some of her work hours as a health aide because of the COVID-19 risk, but she’s excited to get back to working more regularly once she’s immune. She also adds she’s excited to get back to going to church. 

“I’m so excited to go back to church,” she said. “I’m missing my Sunday school kids.”

The Pannell Center in Meadowview hosts a vaccine clinic Friday, March 12, 2021.Andrew Nixon / CapRadio

South Sacramento has been one of the city’s COVID-19 hot spots since the pandemic began. The neighborhood is also one of the city’s most diverse, lowest income, and has a high proportion of people living in multi-generational households. All of these factors, from close living quarters to access to healthcare, have made the area more prone to virus transmission.

Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that 40% of California’s vaccine doses would be going to low income communities around the state. On Friday, the state reached a goal of delivering 2 million doses to people in those areas. This pop-up site in South Sacramento, along with others in Oak Park and Del Paso Heights, are part of that effort locally. 

But advocates say the area needs a more regular place for residents to receive the COVID-19 vaccines, not just a one-day clinic. The site at the Pannell Center in Meadowview will only operate on Friday, March 12, and they had just a thousand doses to give out to the community. 

Councilmember Mai Vang, who represents this district and who led the effort to bring a vaccine pop-up to the neighborhood, said even the one-day clinic is long overdue. 

“I think our community has been asking for this, and if we are truly about equity, then it’s bringing the vaccine to them, where they’re at,” Vang said. “About over 90% of the folks that are being vaccinated today are from low income communities of color with 50% of them who are limited English speakers.”

Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang at the Pannell Center in Meadowview for a vaccine clinic Friday, March 12, 2021.Andrew Nixon / CapRadio

Beatrice Tetteh, a pediatrician serving the South Sacramento area, was in charge of Friday’s vaccine pop-up effort. The clinic sent out notifications through community channels like churches, schools and advocacy non-profits. 

“COVID-19 has been striking different zip codes hard when it comes to the number of cases,” Tetteh said. “There is a vaccination site in Natomas, there’s also one in McClellan Field, but none of them are serving the South Sacramento area.” 

The 95823 zip code in particular, which encompasses the Laguna, Parkway and Valley Hi neighborhoods has had the highest positivity rate in the county. 

“But at this point in time, there hasn’t been any real vaccine plans for this region,” Tetteh said. 

Bobby Dalton Roy, the site coordinator for the pop-up, adds that he hopes the county will consider opening a regular vaccination site in the area soon, as many South Sacramento residents might not have the resources or ability to access sites in other neighborhoods.

“The government over and over fails South Sacramento and Del Paso Heights,” Roy said. “It’s frustrating, and it’s a burden that a lot of folks discount South Sacramento because it’s not as important as the Downtown core or wealthier parts of the city.” 

For Rebecca Person, another South Sacramento resident who was waiting in line to be vaccinated on Friday, she said she was just glad a clinic opened nearby her, especially because she had been feeling hesitant about getting vaccinated initially. 

“I was one of those that wasn’t going to get the shot, but you know, we’re in different times now, right?” she said. 

The Pannell Center in Meadowview hosts a vaccine clinic Friday, March 12, 2021.Andrew Nixon / CapRadio

She adds that her whole family actually contracted COVID-19 last year. That experience, in addition to the convenience of having a clinic in her neighborhood, helped sway her. 

“I just thought about it and thought about it, Black and brown people, people of color, we do not trust the government because of systematic racism, but I said I’m going to try it, my kids say they won’t, I had to think really hard, but I think it’s probably best for me.”

The Sacramento County Health Department has said that they are working on creating a more regular vaccine site for the South Sacramento neighborhood, but there are no firm plans as to when the next clinic in the area might open up. Find more information about vaccination options in Sacramento County here.