Vulnerable populations receive vaccine
By Kendra Sitton
83-year-old Floyd Flagg received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on the morning of Monday, March 22 as part of a partnership between the Veterans Village of San Diego (VVSD) and Family Health Centers.
Flagg said his arm felt fine after receiving the vaccine. The only hesitation he had in receiving the vaccine was mixed messages doctors gave him about whether he needed it after previously fighting a case of COVID-19.
The frail Navy veteran explained that he “had the virus but still kicking.”
He hopes others get the vaccine as well because people are dying and many people have lost their jobs.
“Just get back to normal,” Flagg said.
For Flagg, receiving the vaccine came after a year of chaotic moves. He was admitted to Grossmont Hospital with COVID-19 for six days. After being released, he stayed in one of the county-funded hotels until he tested negative for the virus. At that point, he was moved to the mass shelter at the San Diego Convention Center before finally transferring to the Veterans Village transitional housing.
An area in the transitional housing building was converted into an open area to administer the vaccine for the residents and a few alumni of the program who are enrolled in the VA (Veteran’s Affairs). Even an unsheltered veteran was able to walk into the clinic to receive the one-dose vaccine. The vaccination center being on site meant residents could easily access the vaccine and only have to make one trip before being fully inoculated. The effort from the VA, Family Health Centers and Veterans Village are part of an ongoing effort to ensure that vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by the virus also receive the vaccine.
“The vulnerable population deserves the best of the best. So if we know this is one time and go, then this is the population that needs that,” said Lisa Misraje, the director of development at VVSD.
An army veteran who was vaccinated at the site, Johnny Bryant, said he was curious how the day would go because he had witnessed the chaos of the Petco Park mass vaccine site. He found the check-in process to be simple with almost no line.
“They said only one dose so that’s even better,” Bryant said. “It’s convenient.”
Family Health Centers has been critical in vaccinating vulnerable communities. San Diego City Council President Jen Campbell, who is also a doctor, partnered with the organization and nonprofit People Assisting the Homeless (PATH) to administer vaccines to residents in transitional housing.
