WALLINGFORD — The town is considering additional vaccination clinics at community sites once the ongoing series of drop-in clinics ends on Thursday.
“We are in process of looking at other community sites to make the booster/initial vaccinations available in the coming weeks,” Health Director Stephen Civitelli said Monday. “Once a location is set, we will be notifying the public of the dates and times.”
Weekly clinics have been held at the Parks and Recreation Department every Thursday this month, with around 75 individuals coming in during each. Held at 6 Fairfield Blvd., the clinic is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for initial doses and booster shots for those 18 or older, with no appointment needed.
Homebound appointments are also available for those who qualify. Those interested can make an appointment by calling the Health Department at 203-294-2065.
Civitelli said 81.88 percent of town residents have had at least one vaccination dose.
According to the state vaccine portal https://portal.ct.gov/vaccine-portal, doses are also available at the North Colony Road Stop & Shop, Walmart, Rite Aid and Walgreens. The Spanish Community of Wallingford is also hosting a mobile vaccination van on Saturdays from 2 to 7 p.m. with no appointment, insurance or identification required.
Health officials continue to promote vaccination to protect against severe illness caused by the delta and omicron variants.
“We are seeing a slow decline of the number of patients who have tested positive for COVID,” Dr. Ajay Kumar, vice president and chief clinical officer for Hartford HealthCare, told reporters Monday. “This includes a number of people who come in for incidental reasons but tested positive for COVID.”
Along with the downward trend, cases of severe illness remain low in people who are vaccinated, unless there are comorbidities, said Dr. Uysses Wu chief epidemiologist and system director of infectious diseases.
“If you are unvaccinated you are more likely to do poorly if you contract COVID,” Wu said. “If you are unboosted, you are also more likely to do poorly as compared to just being vaccinated. But when you look at those two in totality, as compared to the unvaccinated. the chasm is quite large. It is quite significant.”
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