In early 2021, the county health department held small COVID-19 vaccine clinics in Charleston neighborhoods. The aim was to bring the vaccine to minority residents, and mainly Black residents, rather than wait for them to come to the large clinics downtown.
North Charleston, February 2021
On Thursday, February 4, 2021, the health department held a clinic at the North Charleston Recreation Center. More than 300 Kanawha County residents got a vaccine. Of 440 doses set aside for the day, about 100 were left at the end. The health department planned to use them at a clinic in Rand.
At first, staff booked people from the state pre-registration system who lived in ZIP codes near North Charleston. Only about 100 people qualified that way, so staff widened the search to all of Kanawha County while still focusing on Black residents. A West Side clinic the week before had drawn a strong turnout after local faith leaders reached out to people in person.
At that time, the state did not publicly report vaccinations by race. Of the state’s confirmed COVID-19 cases, about 2.5 percent were among Black residents, and race was unknown for about 32 percent. Kanawha County had the most confirmed cases among Black residents of any county in the state.
Roosevelt Community Center, March 2021
On March 29, 2021, the health department said it would go back to the Roosevelt Community Center that week. It planned to give vaccines to four mainly African American community groups there. That same week, the health department turned its focus to clinics for high school students.
See also 281 vaccinated at Rand community clinic Wednesday and Health department to shift vaccination strategy.
This information is from 2021. It is kept here as a record and is not current advice. Check current guidance from the CDC or your doctor.