Tallahassee, Fla. – Florida A&M University will host a state-operated community COVID-19 vaccination site as early as next week, said President Larry Robinson in a news release on Saturday.
The site will be run by the Florida Division of Emergency Management and the Florida Department of Health in Leon County and administer up to 200 doses to eligible groups every day. The site’s opening date will be determined in the coming days, according to FAMU and state officials.
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The state aims to bolster vaccine operations and tackle the growing mistrust and hesitation surrounding the vaccine among communities of color.
“We want to reach out to the community, which has been disproportionately affected by COVID-19,” said Tanya Tatum, FAMU director of Student Health Services. “Right now, we have many Black and Hispanic individuals who have not had the vaccine.”
Since many elderly residents lack the technological resources to register online for COVID-19 vaccination appointments, FAMU plans to work with community partners to cater to underrepresented communities, Tatum continued.
“This is a targeted outreach,” Tatum said. “This is how we are going to start reaching the underserved.”
FAMU started running a community-based COVID-19 testing site at Bragg Memorial Stadium on April 25, 2020, administering nearly 250,000 tests. Given FAMU’s Robinson said a vaccination site on campus would make sense.
“We will be working to target a demographic that has been underrepresented because of a lack of access and lack of trust regarding the vaccine. The FAMU site will help remedy these problems,” said Robinson, who was among FAMU eligible employees and students who received their first vaccination dose in January at the Student Health Center on campus.
Robinson is scheduled to receive his second dose next week.
“I want to set an example for others,” Robinson said. “Let’s hope that by doing this, I can convince a few more people to come and get vaccinated.”