GLOUCESTER — Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken, Public Health Director Karin Carroll and Fire Chief Eric Smith wish to share information for those who would like to volunteer to support future COVID-19 vaccination clinics.
The City of Gloucester announced on Monday that it will begin holding vaccination clinics for first responders next week as part of phase one of the state’s vaccination distribution plan. The community is reminded that the vaccine will not be available to the general public until April at the earliest through the state’s vaccination distribution plan. To learn more, click here.
The vaccines at the first responder clinics have been set aside for specific individuals identified by DPH in order of priority. Even if you are a first responder, you cannot make an appointment at the clinic unless contacted directly.
While the clinics next week will be staffed by internal City staff, the City may need volunteers for future, larger clinics as more people become eligible for the vaccine through the state’s vaccine distribution plan.
Following Monday’s announcement regarding the clinics for first responders, the City has received an outpouring of messages from those who would like to volunteer to support vaccination efforts.
“Thank you to everyone who has reached out to us thus far looking to volunteer to support this effort, it’s very reflective of the people in Gloucester and Cape Ann and their willingness to help others throughout the pandemic, which we have responded to as a community from the start,” Mayor Romeo Theken said.
The City of Gloucester will work with the Medical Reserve Corps should a need for volunteers arise in the future to support additional clinics. The MRC organizes local, regional and statewide volunteer resources to respond to public health initiatives and needs across the Commonwealth. Volunteers with and without medical experience are needed to support different aspects of their work, and will supplement existing emergency and public health resources.
To sign up to volunteer, visit their website here and click the “register now” button. The first question in the registration form will ask volunteers to select an organization. Those looking to support efforts on Cape Ann should select the orange plus sign next to the link to view a map of organizations by region. Once you have clicked on the orange plus sign, you will have the option to select MRC (Medical Reserve Corps). To volunteer to support vaccination efforts in Gloucester and Cape Ann, select this option by clicking on the black plus sign to the left, and then select “Region 3 — Northeastern MA” by selecting the black plus sign to the left, and lastly select “North Shore — Cape Ann Emergency Preparedness Coalition MRC.” From here, fill out the rest of the form with your information.
For more information about the state of Massachusetts’ timeline for vaccine distribution, click here. For more information about COVID-19 vaccines in general, visit the CDC’s website here and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health website here.
About the Medical Reserve Corps
The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) are community-based and function as a way to locally organize and utilize volunteers who want to donate their time and expertise to prepare for and respond to emergencies and promote healthy living throughout the year. MRC volunteers supplement existing emergency and public health resources.
The MRC was founded after President George W. Bush’s 2002 State of the Union Address, in which he asked all Americans to volunteer in support of their country. It is a specialized component of Citizen Corps, a national network of volunteers dedicated to ensuring hometown security. Citizen Corps, along with AmeriCorps, Senior Corps and the Peace Corps are part of the President’s USA Freedom Corps which promotes volunteerism and service nationwide.
###
